Darkness Stole her Heart
by the.love.that.binds
Summary: She's a beautiful killer, a dark angel, a manipulative liar. Does Klaus want more than her blood? Does Damon really want nothing to do with the sadistic killer that caused them all grief? Will Kol ever find a reason to live or love? But more's at stake than just Irina Petrova's life, or her heart, however tainted it may be... rated t for violence & some swearing **character deaths
1. Blue Ribbon

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**1**

Blue Ribbon

* * *

_She was lost._

_Forgotten._

_Revenge. Anger. Cruelty. Everything that drove her on to continue her existence, pounded like a meticulous drum, thrumming through her body like a heartbeat; the ever-growing darkness. _

* * *

"Elena, you are _not _in control!" hissed a feminine voice.

A beautiful, tall girl with blonde curls and pretty blue eyes looked over, concerned, as she pushed back the girl standing across from her.

She had a red cheerleading outfit on, her hair tied back in a high pigtail, childishly with a blue ribbon. She had the same doe eyes, high cheekbones, and features of Katerina Petrova. She assumed an air of nonchalant behaviour. Irina confirmed that this was the legendary doppelgänger.

"Who are you?" the blonde girl questioned suspiciously, on edge, noticing Irina.

The doppelgänger squirmed under the blonde girl's restrain, her fangs stretching out, her veins protruding, licking the blood feverishly off of her lips.

"Someone whom you should fear."

_And the darkness enclosed in again, cloaking the monster's veil over her mind in a firm, cool clasp. She let the darkness overwhelm her, welcoming it as an old friend. It was ever-present in her heart, consuming her more and more when she called upon it._

Irina snapped Caroline's neck smoothly, letting her body fall to the floor with ease. She pivoted towards the doppelgänger.

Elena ignored the comment. "Thanks," she said, indicating towards her fallen friend. "She was bothering me. She can't tell me what to do. She's not my mother."

"A humanity switch. But why?...What was _so _important that made you want to forget everything, Elena?" Irina speculated, enjoying the girl's attempts to refrain from feeling again. She stepped closer, knowing the proximity would push fear instead of no-humanity into her mind. Elena wanted to live, she assumed. Irina was, of course, the much older, stronger vampire, and she could kill the doppelgänger any time she wanted to.

"It wasn't...dear brother, was it?" The words were sickly sweet, and a small, fractured part of Elena, hidden somewhere deep, began to feel sick. _Jeremy._

They stood staring down at each other, before Irina turned away. Elena had refused to succumb to the part of her that was still human.

"Very well...what does the doppelgänger think about this?" Irina grabbed Caroline upright and held a poised stake to her heart.

"Do it," Elena said recklessly. "It would be one more person to grieve over, right? In my never-ending funeral of a life. But I don't care anymore. So do it."

Irina dropped Caroline carelessly and turned back to Elena. "No regrets. No sadness. That's all good, Elena." She took a step closer to the girl, hoping to again drive fear into her. "But when you turn it back on, it'll all come crashing down on you. You want to know a little secret?" She leaned in close, whispering in Elena's ear.

"_I don't care either._"

Irina was the predator; she could kill Elena right now, if she chose to. Her lethal words crept into Elena's flesh and held there tight. "So I suggest you turn everything back on."

"Why?" Elena snapped back, chin raising defiantly. The glare in her eyes marched forward to challenge Irina's.

Irina flashed a smile, eyes holding dark mirth. "A doppelgänger is no use to me dead. If you keep going like this, when you finally turn it back on, you'll kill yourself. You'll feel sorry about everything you've done, won't you? Your compassionate heart? Ruined. Tainted. You'll be dead before they know it," she said, a snarl rippling through her throat.

"So what, now I'm just a pawn in one of your little games?"

"You don't want to play?" she challenged.

"Oh I want to play." The girl smiled wickedly.

"Good."

Irina slammed the stake into Caroline's chest hollowly. Caroline gasped, bright blue eyes opening wide, before her skin turned ashen grey.

"Let's start."

The look on Elena's face completely changed in those five seconds. Her blank, carefree expression was replaced with fear. "_Caroline!_" she screamed, and she kneeled down in a blur to face her friend. "_Caroline!?_"

In the end, Caroline Forbes was the one who restored the doppelgänger's humanity.

Irina backhanded Elena harshly, causing her to fly into a tree, dirt flying up wildly around her like a tornado. The doppelgänger recovered quickly, getting to her feet with a growl, her fangs sharpening. "_I'll kill you!_" she screamed in a rage so fierce and sudden that it stirred Irina's amusement.

"Come and play, little girl." Irina's voice echoed off the trees, her physical form shifting out of sight. The trees seemed to press into Elena menacingly, as if in a warning for the storm ahead.

Elena snarled in an outrage, in response, trying to track Irina's scent.

Within a split second the vampire was behind the doppelgänger, popping her neck with a satisfying _crack_.

"Too bad. You wouldn't last one second."

She stalked off, leaving Elena's body and Caroline's corpse behind. They were of as much importance to Irina as the blue ribbon that had weaved its way out of Elena's hair, fluttering away into the depths of the clear, vast sky.


	2. New Face in Town

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**2**

New Face in Town

* * *

The darkness wrapped her in its cold, lifeless arms, engulfing her in hatred and anger. Irina awoke abruptly, eyes flashing a dangerous red. She was hungry. She swung her legs off the bar table and stood up, stretching. The music was still on from last night but nobody was dancing. They were all dead. Gore splattered the floor and the strobe lights swept across the room, highlighting the blood in different shades. A massacre of bodies lay scattered around the room.

She had probably drunken her way through all of the Mystic Grill's alcohol supply. After that...dancing until dawn. And the feeding in between.

Irina tipped her bottle in salute to the dead, and arched her head back as she finished her drink, tossing it to the side when she was finished. By herself, she moved to the heavy bass of the beat freely. Suddenly she heard a sharp intake of breath, and a stir of movement to her left. She turned, hips swaying carelessly, head shaking to the beat of the music. A human girl, crying and whimpering, holding a hand tenderly to her wound.

Although Irina was a good five feet away, she was able to compel the girl due to the massive amount of blood she had consumed. It ignited the power of her fire, the drive that awakened her.

"Come here," she murmured silkily, her blood-red pupils dilating.

_"This is how I show my love_  
_I made it in my mind because_  
_I blame it on my A.D.D. baby__"_

The girl shook and screamed up to her death. With clumsy, unwilling feet, she had stumbled to regain her balance, shuffled towards Irina, trying to stop the compulsion. She wasn't able to.

_"This is how an angel dies_  
_I blame it on my own sick pride_  
_Blame it on my A.D.D. baby"_

Irina finished her meal and strutted out of the bar, her bottle in hand.

* * *

Klaus Mikaelson stared at his reflection in the water; the reflection of a monster.

Her ashen-grey, silvery skin had withered away by the time he had arrived. He had caught one final look at her before she had died. Her lifeless, once beautiful blue-green eyes lost their light. Her golden, pure hair discolored, like her golden heart. His name, a whisper, that fell silent on her lips, as if she had remembered him before dying.

She was gone.

But he still loved her all the same.

He wished he could see her in the clear, pure water, not the monster before him. See her reflected back at him, his light to his dark, his ice to his fire. His equal, for they both desired to be strong...ageless...fearless...

He would never see her again.

Klaus tried to summon her reflection in the gently lapping water, but all he saw was himself. And the flashes.

_"You could have a thousand more birthdays."_

_"I happen to be Miss Mystic Falls."_

_"You like horses."  
_

_"Ugh! I need to go sanitize my mouth!"_

_"You're strong, beautiful...full of light. I fancy you."_

He pounded his fists on the earth in his loss, the ground rumbling in response.

_"Your mouth was all over mine. I was an innocent victim!"_

_"Have you ever thought about becoming human?"_

_"I'm over it, love."_

_"Sometimes I found myself wishing I could forget all the horrible things you've done."_

_"You have a beautiful future ahead of you."_

_"Perhaps one day, in a year or in a century, you'll show up at my door and let me show you what the world has to offer."_

_"I don't want to die!"_

_"Small-town boy; small-town life. It won't be enough for you, you mark my words."_

Klaus succumbed to his anger, trying to rid his grief, his nails stretching over his skin, leaving bloodied marks in their wake.

_"How did I become the bad guy?"_

_"...I'll tell you all about being the bad guy."_

_"...You can't forget, can you?"_

_"...Which means a part of you is human. I've seen it."_

_"You're safe."_

_"Thank you."_

_"Run!... or I'll make you run!"_

He put his hands on either side of his head, ravaging, trying to rid the torment that was Caroline.

_"I know you're in love with me."_

_"Or maybe it's because I can't help myself, that I'm pure evil."_

_"You thought, that because your father didn't love you, no one would."_

_"You prefer yourself rather than the girl you once were."_

He fell to his knees.

_"Then show him the mercy I would show you!"_

_"It was all for you, Caroline."_

_"Anyone capable of love is capable of being saved."_

For the first time in a long time, Klaus wept. He let them fall freely, his features for once etched in pain, feeling helpless.

The tears rippled into the water, and his reflection finally distorted.

* * *

Irina exited the bar casually, not bothering to wipe away the fresh blood dripping from her fangs. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a raven-haired, blue-eyed man staring at her with a frown evident on his face. She smiled; brilliant, pearly white teeth flashing. He was a vampire. And _she_ loved to have fun. From the other end of the sidewalk he flashed over to her, flaunting her a cocky grin.

"Looks like somebody's new in town."

She kept up her pace, turning to glance appreciatively at him. "This boring little town might not be so bad after all." She winked.

"That's the spirit..." He smiled back dangerously, and then she caught the length of the stake before it could sink into her supple back.

"You need to work on your stealthiness." She pulled the stake away from him in a light but surprisingly powerful grip. "It'll get you killed." She twirled the weapon flexibly in her hand, smiling.

He chuckled. "Looks like you passed the newcomer test...I'm Damon."

"Irina."

As she turned her back to him, he tried to attack her again. Catching Damon's movement in mid-air, she flung him to the ground in a smashing blow. "Next time, Damon...just ask." She smiled devilishly at him before striding away in her long gait.

Damon sat up painfully, forehead scrunched. So this girl _was _going to be a problem, after all. She was stronger than him and definitely much older as well. He inwardly groaned. Jeremy dying, Elena's flip switched, Silas released, the new face in town; what else was coming?

"So what _are_ you doing in Mystic Falls?" he called after her, all joking and playfulness gone. He needed to find out what this intruder had in mind for his town. It was his to protect, anyways. Like Elena.

So much had happened already, and he didn't need any bigger problems - even if she _was_ hot. Like really, _really_ hot.

* * *

R&R? Please?

This is originally a Klaus/OC/Kol story, but I'm having second thoughts. Maybe Klaus/OC/Damon, or Kol/OC/Damon? If so then I'd need to rewrite this chapter :D tell me what you guys think!

oh and the short video promo for "Be My Saviour", my Klaroline fanfic, is finally out! You can find the link to it on my profile!

Let's see if you guys can identify the song that's playing when Irina's having a little fun...honestly, I love Irina; best OC I've made so far and my favourite :) I don't know how I came up with her character, but I'm sure glad I did!

Next chapter's kind of a filler; in a few we're going to get to the Klaus/Irina/Kol meeting, imma slow writer :(( anyways...Or would you all prefer Damon as her love interest? What kind of love triangle should it be? Review your thoughts!

And who else is majorly excited for TVD tonight? I know I sure as hell am!

Until next time!


	3. Burying Golden

_Darkness Stole her Heart _

**3**

Burying Golden

* * *

_"One day...you're going to hurt." _

Katerina Petrova's words rang hauntingly in her ancestor's mind.

_"But the difference between you and me, Kat...is that I don't feel human. I don't miss it."_

Irina Petrova swung open the gate to the deserted cemetery, pushing past the gloomy graves, the fog swirling around her feet. She took a seat on a headstone and started to wait. The beautiful vampire knew that they would have to bury Caroline Forbes soon; it was only a matter of time. Now Irina would just have to wait them out in order to make an appearance.

The time passed fluidly, incoherent thoughts and memories weaving in and out of her mind.

_"What is wrong with you?!"_

_"I don't feel anything. Nothing is wrong with me."_

Her gaze shifted into focus, back to the sight before her; figures all clad in black, a young woman with once golden hair carried among them.

It had started to lightly rain, the moistness a welcome comfort to her skin, the sticky, dark blood from her victims washing away.

She drew up her knees from her place on the tombstone, as she watched, with faint amusement, the group say their last words.

"Caroline...was a friend. More than that, actually. She was my best friend. And...and she's the one who brought my humanity back and-" Elena broke off, dissolving into tears. "And-and I miss her so much!" She sank to her knees slowly, her grief overwhelming her.

Irina smiled. How _they_, the vampires, standing not too far from her, could still feel as painfully as it was yesterday, she had no idea.

Bonnie Bennett shook her head, dark locks falling softly over her shoulders, as tears streamed down her beautiful caramel skin.

"Where do I even begin...alright, let's start here," she said brokenly. "There's a little girl on the first day of school. She's scared and all alone, and she's been home-schooled by her Grams for a while. She's looking around, fearing there's no one that'll talk to her...she's a bit shy." Bonnie smiles at the memory. "And then, this warm ray of sunshine steps into her way. 'Hey,' she says. 'I'm Caroline. You look lonely, so I came over here to talk to you. Maybe we can be friends! What's your name?' " She broke down, crying, a fisted hand covering her mouth. "Ever since that day...we've been unbreakable. After everything. We're _still _unbreakable. No matter what."

Stefan Salvatore cleared his throat, his face weary and drawn, eyes melancholy. "Caroline Forbes wasn't just a friend to any of us. She was someone who would always be there, no matter what, and I would try to catch her when she fell." He paused painfully as his voice cracked. "She proved to all of us that she was much more than a 'crazy, neurotic control-freak', as she once put it. She always was much more than that. Being a vampire made her finally realize who she really was. Caroline was kind and compassionate, even though she could go a little overboard at times. But that was only because she cared too much about other people, and whether they were making the right choices or not. And...since Lexi died, I've never had a friend like her...but then Caroline came along." He tried to smile. "She changed all of us. We're going to miss you, Caroline."

"Matt?" Bonnie whispered.

"...I can't. I just can't." His voice trembled with so much pain that no one dared to prod him any further.

All heads turned to Damon. "Are you going to say anything, Damon?" Elena asked softly.

"No," he said simply, almost uncaringly, and he walked away.

Watching him leave with a watchful eye, Irina jumped off the tombstone and walked towards the mourning group.

"Nice day for a funeral," she stated emotionlessly, circling them.

Elena's head snapped up. "She's the one!" she spluttered through her tears. Her black eyeliner had all but flowed into the path of her tears, her lipstick smudged. "She _killed _Caroline!"

Everyone, alarmed, turned their gaze toward the newcomer. The doppelgänger dove at Irina, but the elder vampire was ready, as always. Spinning her around easily, she held Elena in a vise-like grip with a forearm stretched leisurely across her throat, smiling at the group.

Stefan was snarling in outrage. "Let her go," he said menacingly. He couldn't let anything happen to her. Not after Caroline. He wouldn't let anyone else get hurt.

"I don't think I will." Irina twisted her grip on Elena, her fingernails digging into her throat. The doppelgänger struggled, tears forming in her eyes again.

"Please! What do you want!" Matt spoke up, his face twisted in sadness. His clear blue eyes were clouded and stormy waves were rolling through them. His jaw was clenched as he fought back tears.

Irina tightened her grip, causing Elena to yell out in pain like a defenceless animal whimpering for help.

"No! Kill me!" Stefan said desperately, offering up his hands in surrender, his pale, broad face stark-white. Meanwhile, Bonnie chanted a spell, immersed in deep magic, her brown eyes shut in concentration. As she finished, she sank to the ground hopelessly, nearly collapsing, astonishment evident on her face, peeking through the desperation.

"My magic's not working..." she trailed off in despair.

With a snap, for the second time, Irina twisted Elena's neck, leaving the doppelgänger's body to fall to the floor, the wound on her neck already beginning to heal.

"I'll be seeing all of you," Irina said with a smile, and vanished. Now she just had one more stop to make.

* * *

Damon ambled down a beaten-down path, hands in his pockets. So that girl Irina _did _pose a problem. She'd slaughtered a bar-full of victims and apparently killed Caroline.

Not that the old Damon minded. But the old Damon hadn't shown his face in a while. This was the new Damon, who actually gave a crap about what happened in this small town. The new Damon loved Elena and was on somewhat decent footing with his brother. The new Damon protected Elena's friends. Mostly. Which also meant avenging their deaths. Was this version of him the version before vampirism, an alternation of old Damon, or simply a new side of him?

The questions that tumbled around his mind like the leaves swirling around the trees were as frustrating as hell.

But not quite as much as the girl standing in front of him now.

"You just _can't _stay away, can you?" he murmured distractedly, torn from the eternal struggle in his mind from right and wrong.

"I figure you'd miss me already." A bitter smile curved Irina's lips.

"Look." he sighed. "Everything's a mess as it is right now. Why don't you tell me what you want right now, I give it to you, and you can leave Mystic Falls for good." His voice was strained and exasperated, uncommon for Damon.

"I don't want or need anything. I never will." Irina's tone was flat and bored, as the old Damon's had been a long time ago.

"Then why did you come here?"

"To have fun." A wicked smile twisted her lips, and she turned to leave.

Damon flashed over to the girl, grasping her wrist tightly before you could leave. He forced her to look back at him and she did so willingly, with an annoyed look on her face; she didn't like to be controlled.

"Don't hurt her."

"Who?" she said mockingly.

"Elena."

Her smile grew wider. "That's not your choice to make. Have fun protecting her; although, you may have failed twice." She was gone in an instant.

Damon cursed under his breath. "And they thought I was trouble back then."

He quickly shrugged off his blazer and discarded his tie, deciding that the extra pieces of clothing would only give him a disadvantage in a fight. He gave her a five-second head-start before rushing after her in full-out vamp-speed, a little of the old Damon returning.

* * *

_A/N :: Soooooo i've uploaded this chapter on my birthday! :)) want to give me a present? just hit that grey follow/favourite down there and checkmark those little, lonely boxes...:P heheh. what did you think of this chapter? Please be sure to write up a review for me!_

_And don't forget to vote for which love triangle/pairing you want for Darkness Stole Her Heart! _

_options: _

_Klaus/Irina/Kol_

_Klaus/Irina/Damon_

_Kol/Irina/Damon_

_Klaus/Irina_

_Kol/Irina_

_Damon/Irina_

_You can vote for your favourite on my profile...who's it gonna be? :DD until next time!_


	4. Price of Freedom

_Summary: When Irina Petrova sets foot upon Mystic Falls, she bargains for more than she expects...Hearts are broken and lives are taken. Alliances tested and games are played. Somewhere in the midst, love violently lashes out in many more ways than one. Does Damon Salvatore really want nothing to do with Irina, the sadistic killer who caused them all grief? Does Klaus Mikaelson want more than her blood? And will his brother Kol eventually unlock himself through her? Follow Damon, Klaus, and Kol's struggles, and their affection for this one girl. _

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**4**

Price of Freedom

* * *

To be honest, Irina was quite bored. So bored she almost considered calling up Katherine Pierce, her enemy, but still someone who knew how to have a good time. Today she felt like causing chaos, something she was very good at.

Irina strutted into the bar, getting a drink immediately. The bar was all but deserted, a few employees settling down over a coffee for chit-chat. She stayed there for a while, immersed into her own thoughts, downing shot after shot. What finally sparked her interest was familiar dark curls and a mischievous pair of beautiful brown eyes.

"Katherine." Irina raised her drink to her in a salute of some sort. "What brings you here to Mystic Falls?"

"Oh, the usual," the doppelgänger said sarcastically, downing a shot, joining Irina. "Steal a cure and be reunited with my favourite boys."

"The Salvatores?" Irina raised an eyebrow, amused. "Haven't you toyed with them for over a century? And what's this talk about a cure?"

"See, this town's not as boring as you thought it was." Katherine threw a smile over her shoulder as she walked away. "Coming or not?"

"Let me go get a snack first."

* * *

"Just like good old times, huh, Kat?" Irina said humorlessly, as they strolled in their long gait. "Me and you causing trouble and destruction wherever we go." Katherine smirked in response, and Irina barged in the heavy brass door, the younger vampire following closely behind.

Damon looked up carelessly, focusing on Irina. "It's you again," he said nonchalantly. "I lost you at our little funeral chase." Irina noted that he kept his anger in check, his fist clenching reflexively at times.

He turned over to Katherine. "And not _you_," he said in disgust, rolling his eyes. "Ah, double trouble."

"Keep up with your prey, Damon, or you just might end up being the one whose being hunted," Irina taunted.

Damon glanced up from his glass of alcohol, swishing the liquid around. Irina crossed the room swiftly to pour herself a drink. Damon flashed across the room, handing her a glass.

"What are you doing here?" She raised an eyebrow at him and he clarified his vague inquiry. "What the hell are you doing in _my _house."

"Oh. Well, I came to visit the infamous Brothers Salvatore, of course." She smiled at Stefan, who had just entered the room, his sleeves pulled up and a worried look dominating his features. "They always _did _have a thing for doppelgängers." She swallowed her drink in a gulp, as the room shifted uneasily into a tense atmosphere. "Katherine?" she offered the girl a drink, and she nodded, curls bouncing.

"Don't you mean the doppelgängers always had a thing for mischievously handsome, dashing and daring pairs of brothers?" Katherine elaborated. Damon scoffed, still focused on the flickering flames, while Irina strode across the room to hand Katherine her drink, swiftly taking a seat on the couch. Katherine perched on the side, legs crossed, sipping her drink.

"Look..." Stefan raised his hands in defeat. "We're pretty much finished over here, okay? Elena's off the rails, Bonnie's just about crossed to the dark side, Matt's a mess, and Klaus is going to probably slaughter everyone is this town when he finds out..." He swallowed dryly and looked away. "When he finds out Caroline is dead."

"Slaughtering the town is _my_ job," Irina corrected.

"In all fairness, Klaus was here first," Stefan said, his voice sharp and with a bit of an edge. He was still coping with losing his friend, and a bit of Ripper Stefan's crude humour had started to leak back in.

"Now hold up. In all fairness, _I _came back here first. If it's anyone that's going to slaughter this town, it's me," Damon quipped darkly, staring absent-mindedly into the fire, watching the crackling flames eat up the wood. How he wished the flames could simply swallow up all of his problems like that.

"_In all fairness, _I can kill either one of you right here." She smiled dangerously, predator's teeth flashing. "Or, better yet, both of you." Stefan shifted his feet uneasily, as if expecting a fight, while Damon continued to stare into the fire. "But...I'll keep you alive. For now."

* * *

Kol Mikaelson sighed in boredom at the sight of the bloodied waitress before him. The young girl's white uniform was matted with gore, her pale hand clamped to her wound in fear. "Please..." she whispered. "Please don't do this..."

Kol lunged at her, vamped out, fangs bared and eyes red; a monster of the night. The girl trembled, knowing better not to scream. Kol smiled at her manically, tilting his head as he stroked her shaking cheek.

"Shall I let you go?" he crooned. "...I've had a fair bit to eat tonight. I've got to run as it is. Until next time, darling." He compelled her and stalked off.

This town was getting boring. Where else could he go to? Kol had already been to New York, London, and various other places in the short span of nearly a month. Where should he head to next...?

"I know." Kol murmured to himself, flipping on a song from his iPod. "A town that deals with vampires, werewolves, hybrids, witches, and doppelgängers...Trouble always seems to find it." A twisted smile curved his elegant lips as he slid his hands into his pockets.

"Mystic Falls."

* * *

"So." Irina settled back on the couch, flipping her wavy hair over her shoulder. "How's our little doppelgänger doing?"

"She hasn't killed anyone," Stefan clarified. "If that's what you're wondering."

"As of late," Damon threw in. Irina clucked her tongue thoughtfully, fixing her piercing gaze on the brothers.

"You boys should learn to keep your tongues in check. One day it's going to get you in trouble. For the record, I'm guessing it already has."

"Correct." Damon smiled painfully, wrenching the sides of his mouth upwards to entertain his guest.

"It's because her humanity's back on," Irina smiled wickedly at Damon. "Isn't it?"

"Thanks to you," he muttered.

"Careful," she warned. "You're treading water." She finished her drink. "Don't drown."

Katherine had sat in an uncharacteristic silence for a while, typing on her phone quickly. Finally she finished, standing upright, tucking her phone away, though her movements were quick and anxious. "This is boring," she drawled. "I'm off." Her black heels clicked on the floor as she made her good-byes. "Gentlemen." She nodded to the brothers; Damon ignoring her, while Stefan staring back at her stonily. "Lady." She nodded to Irina, who raised her empty glass.

Outside, Katherine sped off, hardly believing her luck. She'd met up with Irina Petrova again - finding her throughout all of these years - and had finally given her whereabouts to Klaus. There was much that could be done with a Petrova's blood, especially one who started the bloodline, and the Original Hybrid would be interested. She would trade Irina to Klaus for her personal need.

Katherine thought she had just guaranteed her freedom. However, she was bargaining with the devil. And the devil never played fair.

* * *

**A/N :: Kol is making his appearance soon ! So excited! And don't forget to VOTE on my profile:**

**Kol/Irina/Klaus**

**Kol/Irina/Damon**

**Klaus/Irina/Damon**

**Irina/Kol**

**Irina/Klaus**

**Irina/Damon**

**...I hope this chapter wasn't complete crap. Kat and 'Rina teamed up, something's bound to happen soon...Anyways until next time!**


	5. Falling into the Dark

_**Summary:** When Irina Petrova sets foot upon Mystic Falls, she bargains for more than she expects...Hearts are broken and lives are taken. Alliances tested and games are played. Somewhere in the midst, love violently lashes out in many more ways than one. Does Damon Salvatore really want nothing to do with Irina, the sadistic killer who caused them all grief? Does Klaus Mikaelson want more than her blood? And will his brother Kol eventually unlock himself through her? Follow Damon, Klaus, and Kol's struggles, and their affection for this one girl._

**A story of the unknown abilities and heritage of doppelgangers, dark magic, sibling rivalry, a love triangle, and, at the heart of it all, a lethal, beautiful vampire with quite a past: Irina Petrova **

_**The Plot So Far (SPOILERS): **_Irina Petrova has only one goal in mind: to wreak havoc in Mystic Falls. She begins her reign of chaos by killing Caroline Forbes, in order to restore Elena Gilbert's humanity. Little does the Mystic Falls gang know, Irina has ulterior motives...in the meantime she slaughters a bar-ful of victims for her own enjoyment, while Klaus is still mourning Caroline's death. At Caroline's funeral Irina appears to the group, snapping Elena's neck for the second time and causing Damon to attempt to hunt Irina down, in which he is unsuccessful. Later on he is sitting in front of the fire in the Salvatore Mansion, contemplating his problems, when Irina decides to play mind-games with the brothers. Meanwhile a certain Kol Mikaelson decides to return to Mystic Falls. Katherine tags along with Irina, but secretly plans to make a deal with the devil himself...

_**Main Characters:**_ Irina Petrova (OC), Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Damon Salvatore, Katerina Petrova...

_**Previously:** Outside, Katherine sped off, hardly believing her luck. She'd met up with Irina Petrova again - finding her throughout all of these years - and had finally given her whereabouts to Klaus. There was much that could be done with a Petrova's blood, especially one who started the bloodline, and the Original Hybrid would be interested. She would trade Irina to Klaus for her personal need._

_Katherine thought she had just guaranteed her freedom. However, she was bargaining with the devil. And the devil never played fair..._

* * *

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**5**

Falling into the Dark

* * *

_"Oh God, I'm stuck._  
_They are hell bent on us, and I've got nothing to offer you._  
_My skin trembles, it wants to be used._

_Oh God, I'm thrown._  
_I am only happy on my own._  
_My heart grows harder, it wants to perform._  
_And I only ever feel it when I wanted to be torn..."_  
_  
_

_-To Be Torn, _Kyla La Grange

Klaus didn't go to the burial. Instead he sat stone-still, in front of an empty canvas. White and blank. Empty.

"The night is young, isn't it?" a voice interrupted.

Klaus managed a smirk, turning to the voice's owner. "Fancy seeing you around here, brother."

"I was bored, _brother_, but all's good and fair now. I'm home, after all." He leant against the wall, his dark clothes unwrinkled, without a speck of blood.

"And what brings you here, Kol, I thought you hated it." Klaus murmured absent-mindedly. He took the glass in his hand, carefully spinning it around, sloshing the liquid. He took a drink, then watched as the fragile glass formed tiny webs that twisted around the base as pressure was stressed on it.

"I thought I made myself clear. Boredom." Kol casually stood upright, turning to leave. "And you have a visitor. Tasty little thing."

As Kol flashed off, his trademark grin gracing his lips, Klaus spun and threw his glass into the fire, his rage boiling. He managed to calm himself down, picking up his paintbrush and beginning by adding strokes of violent red.

"I found her." Klaus absent-mindedly raised his head from behind the canvas, eyes never leaving his painting.

"And what, dear Katerina, pray tell, would you be speaking about?" He kept his voice level and steady, sarcastic and playful even, but his body felt numb and cold, as did his heart. Useless. Weak.

"She's my freedom," Katherine continued, a coy smile played on her lips.

"Your attempts are futile; you realize that, don't you?" He smiled ruthlessly at the look of desperation and hopelessness that had carved its way onto her cursed features. "As long as you live, Katerina," Klaus's paintbrush pushed in mid-air, then he gently set it down. His edges of his form blurred and he was on her in an instant, pinning her to the wall, snarling in her face. "I will never let you run free." He let his eyes flicker in luminance, the veins appearing and his eyes melting into golden.

Golden. It had been the colour of _her_ hair.

He hissed at the thought and Katherine struggled, her strength no match for the Original. For all he knew, Katherine could have killed _her. _He violently slammed her head into the wall, her dark curls flying.

"I didn't kill the girl, if that's what you're wondering," Katherine snarled in response, trying to loosen his grasp on her. "If I had hurt her - I would be dead right now. I know my place, Klaus," she justified, trying to remain her cool, calm composure against the threat before her.

Klaus arched his head back. And then her blood was on his lips. He ignored the strangling gasping sounds she made as she held her hand to the wound, trying to halt the bite's venomous contamination into her bloodstream. Soon she would be dead.

"I will hunt you down. Until the. End. Of. Eternity." Klaus let go of his deathly hold on her pale throat, letting her choke in pain, crying out unwillingly, starting to sink down the wall, holding her throat as if it were burning. She looked up at Klaus, one last time, her eyes betrayed and beaten down, the old fire of hatred retreating. Then she fled.

Klaus wiped her blood from his lips and resumed his painting, every stroke, unknowingly to him, becoming more and more anguished, more filled with pain and agony and loneliness. He needed someone to save him, as he was falling to darkness.

* * *

_"Can you leave a light on for me, the spaces solidify._  
_Sleeping with your eyes wide open, as black as the darkest sky._  
_Can you feel the whole world shaking, running but your lungs are aching._  
_Can you feel the whole world shaking, I'm breaking inside._  
_Don't believe the lies._  
_Your echoing heartbeat, echoing heart beats keeps your time._  
_It's crashing lately, your echoing heartbeat, echoing heartbeat._  
_Is all you leave behind, all you leave behind._  
_Leave Behind."_

_-All You Leave Behind, _Hannah Cartwright

Irina had just completed doing a little research around Mystic Falls when Katherine came into sight. Stumbling, the doppelgänger rested against a lamppost, her back to it, as she fought for breath.

"He bit me," she choked out. Her face was pale-white and she was growing feverish, beads of sweat breaking out. Her dark curls hung limply, concealing half of her face.

"You tried to sell me to the Original Hybrid." Irina's smile was tight and forced, her patience worn thin quite a while ago. She had known _exactly _whom Katherine had been texting. For the doppelganger to be so careless and act so recklessly she must really be desolate. She wanted to be free.

Klaus had taken Katherine's family from her, her love, her will, and her mind. Everything that had been good. Katherine could barely recognize the human girl she had been before.

"You were supposed to be my freedom." Katherine sunk down to the ground, the venom spreading through her body. She had little time left to live. Irina crouched down next to her descendant, resting her forearms on her thighs. She cocked her head, face expressionless. "I'm dying. _Please._"

"Don't try to manipulate me." Irina swivelled her head, examining the bite. She leant forward to whisper in her ear. "Because after everything you thought of, _I'm still one step ahead_." Katherine shivered unknowingly, not from the bite. The one only person she greatly feared other than Klaus had always been Irina.

She closed her eyes. She really was going to die then. At least then, everything would be over. Running, deceiving, betraying, lying. Everything.

But Irina had other things in store for her descendant. She offered her wrist to the girl and she took it, biting weakly to consume the blood that would heal her. "And you still have a role to play." Katherine coughed feebly, regaining her strength.

She looked up at her ancestor, a sudden newfound loyalty for her. It had immediately sparked; ignited like a flame, consuming everything. She was gone.

"I owe my life to you."

"You'll owe me everything, in the end." Irina patted the girl's shoulder as she stood up. She had just set a small fraction of her plans into play; Katherine. "You can start, by telling Klaus, _exactly who I am._"

* * *

**A/N:: The poll is still open: Kol/Irina/Klaus, Kol/Irina/Damon, Damon/Irina/Klaus, Irina/Kol, Irina/Klaus, Irina/Damon. Vote for your favourite love triangle/pair! **

**Reviews are very much welcome, as well as appreciated!**

**P.S. This story explores in detail the history of doppelgangers, so just for clarification, the history that I add, is completely FAKE; I made it up for one of the sub-plots for this story. However...it's Vampire Diaries, so everything is pretty much possible, isn't it? I always thought doppelgangers were pretty awesome, so I'm going further with my interest...**

**ALSO, tell me in the reviews, who do you think Irina's first TRUE ally should be? KOL, REBEKAH, KATHERINE, or someone else entirely? Let me know! (I really doubt her first ally would be Klaus or Damon...)**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter; there's many more to come! If you have questions or suggestions for the plot or other stories, you can PM me. Until next time :DD**


	6. All You Leave Behind

_**Summary:** When Irina Petrova sets foot upon Mystic Falls, she bargains for more than she expects...Hearts are broken and lives are taken. Alliances tested and games are played. Somewhere in the midst, love violently lashes out in many more ways than one. Does Damon Salvatore really want nothing to do with Irina, the sadistic killer who caused them all grief? Does Klaus Mikaelson want more than her blood? And will his brother Kol eventually unlock himself through her? Follow Damon, Klaus, and Kol's struggles, and their affection for this one girl._

**A story of the unknown abilities and heritage of doppelgangers, dark magic, sibling rivalry, a love triangle, and, at the heart of it all, a lethal, beautiful vampire with quite a past: Irina Petrova**

_**The Plot So Far (SPOILERS): **_Irina Petrova has only one goal in mind: to wreak havoc in Mystic Falls. She begins her reign of chaos by killing Caroline Forbes, in order to restore Elena Gilbert's humanity. Little does the Mystic Falls gang know, Irina has ulterior motives...in the meantime she slaughters a bar-ful of victims for her own enjoyment, while Klaus is still mourning Caroline's death. At Caroline's funeral Irina appears to the group, snapping Elena's neck for the second time and causing Damon to attempt to hunt Irina down, in which he is unsuccessful. Later on he is sitting in front of the fire in the Salvatore Mansion, contemplating his problems, when Irina decides to play mind-games with the brothers. Meanwhile a certain Kol Mikaelson decides to return to Mystic Falls. Katherine tags along with Irina, but secretly plans to make a deal with the devil himself. Kol returns to Mystic Falls with no apparent agenda (his reason for returning being boredom). Katherine confronts Klaus about Irina, but he violently end their talk by biting her. Katherine runs into Irina, and all but begs her to save her. Irina needs Katherine in her plans and therefore spares Katherine, by feeding her the mysterious Petrova blood...

_**Main Characters:**_ Irina Petrova (OC), Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Damon Salvatore, Katerina Petrova...

_**CHAPTER 6 SOUNDTRACK:** _Hedley's "Heaven's Gonna Wait" (the acoustic version)

_**Previously: **She looked up at her ancestor, a sudden newfound loyalty for her. It had immediately sparked; ignited like a flame, consuming everything. She was gone._

_"I owe my life to you."_

_"You'll owe me everything, in the end." Irina patted the girl's shoulder as she stood up. She had just set a small fraction of her plans into play; Katherine. "You can start, by telling Klaus, _exactly who I am._"_

* * *

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**6**

All You Leave Behind

* * *

Damon Salvatore needed out. He wanted out.

He needed to escape.

From everything. Katherine, Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, Matt, Klaus, Rebekah, Caroline's death, and Irina. From everyone and everything. He'd been pushed to his limits time after time, forced to play the good guy. But he'd always been the bad guy. But everyone just expected him to be good. Everyone. And he was sick of it, sick of people expecting so much of him and convincing themselves that Damon Salvatore was a good and selfless person.

And Elena. He didn't even want to deal with her right now. After Caroline's death she was a mess, crying and sobbing and regretting her entire life. Damon didn't need that. He was tired of her for feeling so much, feeling as if she was human. Well, she wasn't.

Even though she had finally gotten her humanity back from Caroline's death, a part of Damon had begun to wish she would just lose herself again. Because the easier she could let go of things, the easier it would be to completely lose herself. And the more of Elena that was lost, the more of Damon would be free.

To be honest, a part of him was tired of Elena bouncing back between both Salvatores, unable to make a final decision. He wished that she could make it soon, so that he could just move on with his life. Because he knew, that in the end, after everything, _everything,_ Elena would still choose Stefan.

_It's always going to be Stefan. _

And the thought sickened him, repulsed him. To know that so many people had chosen Stefan over him. His father, Katherine, Elena, _everyone. _He didn't feel like trying anymore. This is who he was.

Damon didn't pack anything up. He left everything behind in his room, stopping only to grab a bottle of comforting bourbon. At least that had always been there for him, he thought almost drunkenly. He strode to the door for the last time and swung it open.

Only to reveal _her_. Damon growled savagely, the low snarl rippling through his throat. Unconsciously his eyes faded to red.

"Leaving so soon?" she said.

"Get out of my way," he snarled. He was in no mood for this whatsoever and would have to resort to more violent actions if that's what it took. Irina didn't budge, only moving when Damon blindly swung his fist at her. He'd thrown out a clumsy right hook, and as he missed Irina stepped closer to him, so that the inside of his forearm unwillingly pulled the back of her neck to him.

Their bodies almost touching, Damon let his arm rest around the back of her neck, his demeanour quickly morphing from anger to dejection. He had truly given up. His head hung down low so that his raven dark hair fell over his sharp, crystal blue eyes. He let his bottle smash to the ground, everything shattering to a million broken shards of nothingness.

Damon leant forward until their shoulders were touching, close enough so that he could whisper in her ear.

"Irina," he murmured. "..._Kill me_."

She smiled and said, "Not yet."

"...Why? I've got nothing left." It was true. He had nothing. Nothing.

"So then I'll just destroy everything you had before." Damon paused, breathing in and out slowly, his shoulders rising and falling.

"I never had anything before," he said brokenly. He had only kept trying to deflect her words in denying everything she had said. However, when he looked up, she was gone, like the cool breeze that swept his hair off of his forehead. In surprise he stumbled forward, boots crackling on the smashed glass, as he had been leaning on Irina and now she was gone.

In front of him now stood Elena.

"Damon?" she whispered gently, as if approaching an injured animal. "What happened?" Her eyes had gestured to the mess on the ground, and his off-balance.

"Reality happened," he said. "The reality that told me everything you ever thought about me was always a lie." Elena's already puffy eyes swelled up with tears, but Damon pressed on. "I'm not the good guy, Elena. I was never meant to be. _We _were never meant to be." He swiftly crossed by her, exiting her life for the final time.

"Don't walk away from me! Damon! _Damon!" _He turned his head slightly to acknowledge her words. "_I love you! Is that not enough?_"

Elena slowly sunk down to her knees, all the hurt cascading down on her. Caroline, Stefan, Bonnie, Matt, and now Damon, everything. Everyone. Why couldn't she stop hurting? It hurt, it _hurt, it hurt._

Why did Damon always make things even more complicated? He always did.

As she looked up, tears spilling down her face, hand covering her mouth in agony, wind slicing at her face and hair, she looked for him. But he was already gone.


	7. False Lies are True

_**Summary:** When Irina Petrova sets foot upon Mystic Falls, she bargains for more than she expects...Hearts are broken and lives are taken. Alliances tested and games are played. Somewhere in the midst, love violently lashes out in many more ways than one. Does Damon Salvatore really want nothing to do with Irina, the sadistic killer who caused them all grief? Does Klaus Mikaelson want more than her blood? And will his brother Kol eventually unlock himself through her? Follow Damon, Klaus, and Kol's struggles, and their affection for this one girl._

**A story of the unknown abilities and heritage of doppelgängers, dark magic, sibling rivalry, a love triangle, and, at the heart of it all, a lethal, beautiful vampire with quite a past: Irina Petrova**

_**The Plot So Far (SPOILERS): **_Irina Petrova has only one goal in mind: to wreak havoc in Mystic Falls. She begins her reign of chaos by killing Caroline Forbes, in order to restore Elena Gilbert's humanity. Little does the Mystic Falls gang know, Irina has ulterior motives...in the meantime she slaughters a bar-ful of victims for her own enjoyment, while Klaus is still mourning Caroline's death. At Caroline's funeral Irina appears to the group, snapping Elena's neck for the second time and causing Damon to attempt to hunt Irina down, in which he is unsuccessful. Later on he is sitting in front of the fire in the Salvatore Mansion, contemplating his problems, when Irina decides to play mind-games with the brothers. Meanwhile a certain Kol Mikaelson decides to return to Mystic Falls. Katherine tags along with Irina, but secretly plans to make a deal with the devil himself. Kol returns to Mystic Falls with no apparent agenda (his reason for returning being boredom). Katherine confronts Klaus about Irina, but he violently end their talk by biting her. Katherine runs into Irina, and all but begs her to save her. Irina needs Katherine in her plans and therefore spares Katherine, by feeding her the mysterious Petrova blood. Damon finally realizes a huge mistake and leaves Mystic Falls, but not before an encounter with Irina and Elena...

_**Main Characters:**_ Irina Petrova (OC), Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Damon Salvatore, Katerina Petrova...

_**CHAPTER 7 SOUNDTRACK: **The Heavy's "The Same 'Ol" _

_**Previously: **Elena slowly sunk down to her knees, all the hurt cascading down on her. Caroline, Stefan, Bonnie, Matt, and now Damon, everything. Everyone. Why couldn't she stop hurting? It hurt, it hurt, it hurt._

_Why did Damon always make things even more complicated? He always did._

_As she looked up, tears spilling down her face, hand covering her mouth in agony, wind slicing at her face and hair, she looked for him. But he was already gone._

* * *

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**7**

False Lies are True

* * *

Irina had retreated to the shadows, where she belonged. She had watched Damon and Elena's encounter, their final meeting, and now she slipped silently away, heart cold as ever, thinking nothing of what had occurred. She couldn't afford to actually feel for someone, whatever Damon had been, friend or foe. And so she didn't. She didn't think anything at all of Damon Salvatore. She let him exit her life as quickly as he had exited Elena's.

She sighed with amusement and stretched, stalking off. _Farewell, Damon, _she thought. _Let us hope we do not have the misfortune of running into each other again. _And she sincerely hoped it.

Elena was left on the ground sobbing her heart out, until some time later Stefan took her into his arms and began comforting her. The comfort of her ex-boyfriend only reopened old wounds, and Irina slipped away into the darkness.

The day was fading, the creeping blackness of the night slowly settling in. She pointedly walked away, choosing her destination quickly in her mind at leisure. However, as she passed an alley on her way, she heard the familiar heartbeat of a human. She couldn't resist the temptation. With the smile that never reached her way, Irina approached the stranger.

"It's awfully dangerous to be wandering around at night, you know." She casually leant against the brick foundation and monitored the girl with her observant eyes. She was bright, with dark hair and sharp blue eyes.

"Trust me, you don't know about half of the things that go bump in the night," the girl responded, half smiling to herself with an expression that said that she knew more than she let on.

Irina flashed over to the girl, smiling, cocking her head, as she noticed the girl's vervain necklace. The girl stumbled backwards, reeling in shock, while Irina continued her little game. "Oh but you see_ I_ am the thing that goes bump in the night."

"_You're a vampire_." The girl spoke fearfully, though Irina could detect hints of disgust in her voice.

"My name is Irina."

"_April Young_," she girl said, shivering.

"April." Irina familiarized the name, rolling the syllables in her mouth. "Pastor's daughter, am I correct?"

"I was. But now he's dead," the girl said rather bluntly.

"Such tragedy...you know Elena Gilbert?"

"Yes."

"She's lost all her family, as well."

"I know. I feel closer to her than before. We're the same now."

"Yes...Now I want you to tell her something for me. Can you do that?"

"Of course." April spoke from fear, now willingness, as her voice trembled and she was inching away from the vampire, clutching her vervain bracelet as if it were a life saver.

"Good. I want you to tell Elena Gilbert that you care about her. Sympathize with her. You both lost your families, so there should be no miscommunication. I don't have to compel you, do I? You know how dangerous vampires are." Irina flashed her a fiery smile, pushing off of the wall.

"I know." April repeated. "You don't have to compel me." She shut her eyes, heartbeat quickening, bobbing her head up and down frantically, hoping and praying that Irina wouldn't hurt her.

"Good girl."

When April opened her eyes, the vampire was nowhere in sight.

* * *

Klaus had started to lose it.

He was ravaging, mind gone wild, painting his only salvation. But when he did draw, nothing but Caroline formed itself onto the paper. Her angelic, pure, _cursed _face found its way_ every single time_ and was now staring up at Klaus with her beautiful blue eyes, smiling radiantly. He crumpled the paper in his fist in one motion, tearing her face apart.

No matter how many times he wanted to forget her, she always came back.

He shook his head, some of his anger fading, as he drank his sorrows away.

Finally Klaus contemplated who to kill next. Killing always made things better. What he had always failed to realize, however, was that it never truly made _him _feel better.

It was all very simple really, the death of one was as easy as plucking names off his fingers. It could be anyone.

And this time it would be Caroline's killer.

He would find them and play a game with them. The game of fear, torture...but not death. Death would be too kind. Instead he would make them pay, pay for the one thing that had begun to hold him together. Because they destroyed that one thing.

And he had descended back into the darkness. When he tried to resurface, the pressure held him down and he was underwater. Barely breathing, thick clouds of death clogging his mind. In his darkest moments he only descended farther and farther into the water. When he could sink lower no further, he would have completely lost himself. And that point was near.

He bemusedly spun the stake around in his hands, the stake that had taken Caroline far away from him.

He had not failed to observe the strange markings engraved on the lower half of the weapon. When he had examined it more closely, he thought he saw an intricate pattern twisting up the stake. When he blinked and leaned in, it was gone, and the stake was just an ordinary stake.

Strange things indeed.

He'd almost thought he had seen the pattern of the symbol for 'doppelgänger' on the stake.

* * *

Elena was inside the Salvatore Mansion. Sitting down, she wasn't breathing, and the tear tracks were still evident on her face. As her phone beeped she turned to stare at it, face expressionless.

Ten minutes later she found herself at the Mystic Grill, Stefan nearby to monitor her. He'd insisted on coming along; for moral support, or to make sure she didn't go insane, Elena wasn't sure. But she was glad he'd chosen to come with her.

She listlessly picked at her salad, all but shoving the food around her plate. Ever since she became a vampire, she had never really regained her appetite for human food. Elena looked up with faint interest as a pretty girl seated herself across from her.

"Hey April," Elena said in a neutrally friendly tone. She had promised herself that she would try to forget Damon. For the time being, anyways. She wouldn't be weak or a mess just because he wasn't there anymore. She still believed that he would come back, one day. She just had to hang onto that fragile hope.

"Hi Elena," April chimed. She tried to calm her rapidly beating heart, but then suddenly stopped herself. Why was she afraid of telling Elena that April felt sorry for her? It wasn't only because of Irina's command. But April really did feel sorry for her. Wait, did she? Truly? She was a vampire. Vampires could detect lies. And right now April didn't quite feel sorry for Elena. Once a vampire, always a vampire. They would always be monsters.

April straightened out her skirt nervously, trying not to let her worry shine through. "I, um, I heard about Jeremy..."

Elena looked away, switching her gaze to the pool table, where Stefan was giving he an encouraging look. It's okay, he mouthed. You can do it.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, looking April in the eyes. "Yes. My brother's dead." She could hear the shaking edge in her own voice and tried to ignore it. She failed.

"I just - I just wanted to say that - I'm sorry, alright? I'm so sorry about him. He was a friend of mine and...I know what it feels like to hurt like that." April stumbled through the words. Her gaze suddenly shifted to the entrance, where a familiar vampire had entered the Mystic Grill. April panicked. What if what she had said wasn't enough?

"I mean I can't imagine what it feels like. I mean, everyone is dead. First your parents-" Irina looked over to April and smiled. "-and then Jenna-" Elena started to shift in her seat. "-_Alaric_-" Irina had started to make her way to their table. "-_and Jeremy_-" April's words were getting more panicked and desperate, and she was spitting out names in a futile attempt.

When she had mentioned the last name, Elena lost control. In a blur she had outstretched her arm, fingers wrapping around April's throat. "_Don't," _Elena hissed through her teeth, strengthening her hold. She had pinned April to her seat, her back against the booth. April whimpered, hands trying to pry off Elena's steely grip. Out of the corner of her eye Elena could see Stefan rushing over, trying his best not to use his vampire speed in front of all the people.

"_Never. Say. His. Name. Again." _Elena's fingernails dug deeper into April's fragile skin with every word. The girl's bright blue eyes were widened in fear, her face turning red as she started to choke, trying to thrash her head around.

"Elena!" Stefan was there, quickly placing a hand on Elena's shoulder, both to restrain and comfort her. "Elena, it's _April_. April Young. She would never hurt you." Stefan knelt down to Elena's eye level. "Okay? She knows what it feels like to lose people. And I know you're going through a tough time. Trust me, I know what that feels like. But I know you would never hurt her." Elena's grip had slowly started to slacken, her veins withdrawing and fangs disappearing. Her predator's eyes started to return to normal. "She's your friend."

Elena withdrew her hand as if she had been branded. She threw Stefan a look of pure fear. She wasn't in control of her actions or herself. "Get me out of here," she gasped. Elena was scared. Shaken. She needed to calm down. With a final look of worry given to April, Stefan carefully escorted Elena out of the Mystic Grill, leaving April Young distressed and shaken.

* * *

**A/N:: So, a bit of a side story with April and Elena. Don't worry though, it all has to do with Irina. And...looks like Klaus is really losing his marbles...:P drawing Caroline, seeing patterns on weapons? Things are certainly not looking good for our favourite villain. Yeah, this chapter had a bit of Stelena :P not entirely sure how that got there; this story is Klaus/OC Kol/OC Damon/OC...**

**What do you think? Drop me a review, favourite/follow the story, y'know. Suggestions or requests? PM me :)**

**And don't forget to vote!  
**

_WHICH PAIRING WILL BE ENDGAME?_

_KLAUS/IRINA_

_KOL/IRINA_

_DAMON/IRINA_

**And to all the Damon fans...don't worry, Damon isn't gone for good. Try as he might, he just can't stay away from Mystic Falls. Or Irina, for that matter...**

**Until next time!**


	8. On Both Ends

_**Summary:** When Irina Petrova sets foot upon Mystic Falls, she bargains for more than she expects...Hearts are broken and lives are taken. Alliances tested and games are played. Somewhere in the midst, love violently lashes out in many more ways than one. Does Damon Salvatore really want nothing to do with Irina, the sadistic killer who caused them all grief? Does Klaus Mikaelson want more than her blood? And will his brother Kol eventually unlock himself through her? Follow Damon, Klaus, and Kol's struggles, and their affection for this one girl._

**A story of the unknown abilities and heritage of doppelgängers, dark magic, sibling rivalry, a love triangle, and, at the heart of it all, a lethal, beautiful vampire with quite a past: Irina Petrova**

_**The Plot So Far (SPOILERS): **_Irina Petrova has only one goal in mind: to wreak havoc in Mystic Falls. She begins her reign of chaos by killing Caroline Forbes, in order to restore Elena Gilbert's humanity. Little does the Mystic Falls gang know, Irina has ulterior motives...in the meantime she slaughters a bar-ful of victims for her own enjoyment, while Klaus is still mourning Caroline's death. At Caroline's funeral Irina appears to the group, snapping Elena's neck for the second time and causing Damon to attempt to hunt Irina down, in which he is unsuccessful. Later on he is sitting in front of the fire in the Salvatore Mansion, contemplating his problems, when Irina decides to play mind-games with the brothers. Meanwhile a certain Kol Mikaelson decides to return to Mystic Falls. Katherine tags along with Irina, but secretly plans to make a deal with the devil himself. Kol returns to Mystic Falls with no apparent agenda (his reason for returning being boredom). Katherine confronts Klaus about Irina, but he violently ends their talk by biting her. Katherine runs into Irina, and all but begs her to save her. Irina needs Katherine in her plans and therefore spares Katherine, by feeding her the mysterious Petrova blood. Damon finally realizes a huge mistake and leaves Mystic Falls, but not before an encounter with Irina and Elena. Irina then threatens April Young to sympathize Elena, as they've both lost all their family. Meanwhile Klaus is starting to lose his mind. He's seeing strange symbols on the stake that killed Caroline. He decides to torture Caroline's killer, when he finds them. April follows Irina's command, which causes Elena to snap by attacking April. Stefan manages to stop her in a time, and they leave quickly...

_**Main Characters:**_ Irina Petrova (OC), Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Damon Salvatore, Katerina Petrova...

_**CHAPTER 8 SOUNDTRACK: **Lana Del Rey's "Born To Die"  
_

_**Previously:** Elena withdrew her hand as if she had been branded. She threw Stefan a look of pure fear. She wasn't in control of her actions or herself. "Get me out of here," she gasped. Elena was scared. Shaken. She needed to calm down. With a final look of worry given to April, Stefan carefully escorted Elena out of the Mystic Grill, leaving April Young distressed and shaken._

_Darkness Stole Her Heat_

**8**

On Both Ends

* * *

April blinked, blue eyes rapidly scanning the Mystic Grill. After a few tense moments she relaxed, slumping back against her seat. Irina was nowhere in sight.

* * *

Damon tunelessly hummed, absentmindedly tapping his fingers across the rough bark. As he sat up, he noticed the victims laying around him. Damon smiled sardonically, his blue eyes uncaring, his legs outstretched before him without a care in the world.

When he had left Mystic Falls, halfway away from his living hell he had flown into a rage. Yelling, hissing, slamming, then dragging whomever he could find to the forest where he could kill them like a true animal.

Now, the morning after, Damon's heart felt as light as air, the same way it felt when he turned his emotions off. So...free. He was free.

With his back to the tree he lazily ran his eyes over his victims, taking in their appearances. Rivulets of blood ran down them, soaking into the earth, their flesh maimed and gouged. Damon hadn't only killed them, he had _tortured _them.

He stood up from his slouched position, blurring quickly to regain his balance. He kept the same smile, the other Damon's, the one that Stefan knew; not the one that Elena knew.

One thought ran across his mind.

Irina.

He didn't even know why he still thought of her; she was yet another vampire who preferred to live life on the edge, to its full potential. To have fun.

And yet...What was it she had said to him? That he never had anything in the first place. Perhaps it was true. His mother, taken from him, dying in childbirth, his brother, the golden boy, always praised and worshiped, and his father, who would have liked to see Damon dead rather than alive. And Katherine. Always choosing Stefan. And finally, Elena. Causing Damon to feel conflicted, to feel again. Nothing but trouble. And still, always choosing Stefan.

Damon was, after all, always the second choice. He'd gotten attuned to it over the years, gotten used to the metallic bitter taste he tasted in his mouth when he would be second best yet again.

Why was he thinking about her?

Perhaps because of her beauty. He'd never seen another like her, Damon was sure of that.

Her destructive flare, her icy rage? What did it remind him of? Himself? Why did he revert back to his old ways? Because of her.

Irina. Irina. Irina. He couldn't get his mind off of her. She was everywhere.

There was just something about Irina that...he wasn't even sure, and thinking too hard about it made him hungry again. Damon wasn't supposed to think too hard. He was just supposed to live life as he always had been; causing mischief, grief, and bloodshed wherever and whenever he wanted to.

No boundaries.

* * *

Irina watched April Young leave with faint amusement. The girl clasped her bag tightly to her side, glancing cautiously around her as she exited the Mystic Grill. She decided she would stop playing games with Elena and April...for the moment. She vaguely wondered what Katherine's explanation would be to Klaus.

She smirked to herself as her mind was taken off of the manner. A tall blonde with crystalline blue eyes and a cold glare had just walked into the bar. And she certainly looked familiar.

* * *

Katherine flashed into the house, the pale hue of her skin gone, replaced with the natural rosiness of her cheeks, now flushed from her task. "Klaus," she said carefully, "I need to tell you something."

"Katerina." Klaus sat before the fire, tossing papers in as he spoke, and watching them burn. "Have you come to say goodbye before the last moments of your death?" Katherine managed to smile almost triumphantly, in a bitter fashion.

"I'm alive and kicking, thank you."

Klaus inclined his head towards her. "My hybrid blood is the only thing that will do the trick."

"There are other ways," the doppelgänger reasoned, stepping closer. Klaus waved his hand at her to continue, while he threw in another drawing of Caroline to the hungry red flames.

"Her name is Irina. She's new in town. And I suggest you go find her." Katherine was gone in an instant, having fulfilled her duty to her sire.

Klaus had finished burning all of the drawings. Staring into the fire, the blue shards of his icy eyes meeting the hot, hungry engulfing flames, he whispered her name. "Irina..." He would find her. Find her and discover what powerful blood she had to cure Katherine of the hybrid bite. He would challenge her for power...and he would defeat her, ensuring that he was still the most powerful creature on the planet.

It was the only thing left to do. With Caroline gone, nothing seemed as important as it had before. As Klaus settled his mind over his new infatuation, regaining power and control, his mind involuntarily flashed to the coffin downstairs. He gritted his teeth, and strode out of the mansion. He still remembered what he had done, clear as day. He didn't regret it.

* * *

Klaus had stood in front of them all. He eyed the doppelgänger that had fallen to the ground, her neck at a gruesome angle. Bonnie was tending to her, propping her up and holding her head in her lap while tears fell down her face as she watched her life unravel before her.

Smiling sardonically while unsettling the group, he walked over to break through the circle they had formed. In the midst of it all...Caroline. She lay on the ground like she was peacefully asleep, ready to spring to life at any moment. Klaus still believed she would. When he spoke, his voice was rough. "I give you all my best." He nodded towards her. "She'll be safest with me."

"Klaus..." Stefan trailed off, his voice uncharacteristically cracking. "She's _dead._"

The hybrid simply smiled in response, looking over to Caroline. "And whoever said there is no way to reawaken the dead?" No one stepped up to face his challenge. Whether they were that desperate to have their number one enemy lend a hand, or they were too beaten down to protest, he didn't know. Gently he had gathered her in his arms, as if she were a fragile doll made out of china. But Caroline was anything but that. Much time spent around her had taught Klaus that. He left the group standing there in the muddy rain, mourning for the loss of Caroline.

When he arrived at the mansion he had lain her body carefully in a coffin, one of the resting places he had used for his daggered siblings. Yes, perhaps, yes, Caroline was like them now, her heart still beating but her mind asleep. He'd just need to find the hidden dagger in her and pull it out and she would breathe again. Very soon.

* * *

Rebekah Mikaelson had just entered the bar, searching for a certain familiar human boy. As she spotted the mess of dark blonde hair, she made her way over to him. Seating herself at the bar, she ordered a bottle of alcohol, while giving him a long sideways glance. Matt, noticing the look, sighed and took the stool next to her. "Look Rebekah, I'm not really in the mood for this right now..."

"I know. I heard about Caroline." She played with the bottle in her hands, staring absent-mindedly at it. "Nik's been moodier than usual." She took a swig then set the bottle down with a loud clack.

"He said he was keeping her in a safe place. Is he really?" Matt questioned evenly, his eyes suddenly latched onto a certain someone.

"If my brother cares for her, he'll keep her safe. We'll have to wait and see." She glanced up to see Matt's reaction, only to discover a look of pure hatred on his face. But his eyes were staring past her.

Rebekah turned, and was met by an old, familiar sight.

"Rebekah. Fancy meeting you here."


	9. Lost Along the Way

_**Summary:** When Irina Petrova sets foot upon Mystic Falls, she bargains for more than she expects...Hearts are broken and lives are taken. Alliances tested and games are played. Somewhere in the midst, love violently lashes out in many more ways than one. Does Damon Salvatore really want nothing to do with Irina, the sadistic killer who caused them all grief? Does Klaus Mikaelson want more than her blood? And will his brother Kol eventually unlock himself through her? Follow Damon, Klaus, and Kol's struggles, and their affection for this one girl._

**A story of the unknown abilities and heritage of doppelgängers, dark magic, sibling rivalry, a love triangle, and, at the heart of it all, a lethal, beautiful vampire with quite a past: Irina Petrova**

_**The Plot So Far (SPOILERS): **_Irina Petrova has only one goal in mind: to wreak havoc in Mystic Falls. She begins her reign of chaos by killing Caroline Forbes, in order to restore Elena Gilbert's humanity. Little does the Mystic Falls gang know, Irina has ulterior motives...in the meantime she slaughters a bar-ful of victims for her own enjoyment, while Klaus is still mourning Caroline's death. At Caroline's funeral Irina appears to the group, snapping Elena's neck for the second time and causing Damon to attempt to hunt Irina down, in which he is unsuccessful. Later on he is sitting in front of the fire in the Salvatore Mansion, contemplating his problems, when Irina decides to play mind-games with the brothers. Meanwhile a certain Kol Mikaelson decides to return to Mystic Falls. Katherine tags along with Irina, but secretly plans to make a deal with the devil himself. Kol returns to Mystic Falls with no apparent agenda (his reason for returning being boredom). Katherine confronts Klaus about Irina, but he violently ends their talk by biting her. Katherine runs into Irina, and all but begs her to save her. Irina needs Katherine in her plans and therefore spares Katherine, by feeding her the mysterious Petrova blood. Damon finally realizes a huge mistake and leaves Mystic Falls, but not before an encounter with Irina and Elena. Irina then threatens April Young to sympathize Elena, as they've both lost all their family. Meanwhile Klaus is starting to lose his mind. He's seeing strange symbols on the stake that killed Caroline. He decides to torture Caroline's killer, when he finds them. April follows Irina's command, which causes Elena to snap by attacking April. Stefan manages to stop her in a time, and they leave quickly. Irina decides to stop intimidating April and Elena for the time being, while Rebekah meets up with Matt at the Grill; little do they know, they're in for a surprise...

_**Main Characters:**_ Irina Petrova (OC), Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Damon Salvatore, Katerina Petrova...

_**CHAPTER 9 SOUNDTRACK:**_The Pretty Reckless's "_Void & Null"__  
_

_**Previously:**"If my brother cares for her, he'll keep her safe. We'll have to wait and see." She glanced up to see Matt's reaction, only to discover a look of pure hatred on his face. But his eyes were staring past her._

_Rebekah turned, and was met by an old, familiar sight._

_"Rebekah. Fancy meeting you here."_

* * *

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**9**

Lost Along the Way

* * *

Rebekah hastily turned back to Matt, the slightest bit of concern edging its way onto her icy features. "Matt, get out of here. She's dangerous." But Matt bravely and foolishly held his ground.

"I know. She killed Caroline." His voice was low and hard, trying to overcome the overwhelming weight of grief. Irina took the bottle from Rebekah and downed a quarter of its fiery content.

"Yes. And you have a right to fear me. In this era people seem to have forgotten what fear is, and act irrationally, ignoring the consequences." She raised the bottle in a salute, then slammed it down on the counter, but not hard enough so that it shattered. "I say kill them all." She smiled at them, her aura causing Matt to sit back down in his stool abruptly, trying to create as much distance from them as possible, not wanting to retain eye contact.

"That's enough, Irina," Rebekah snapped, her voice tight and harsh. The other vampire turned to stare at Matt's companion with a new interest.

"Looks like this little human has gotten you all wrapped around his little finger, Bekah. Tell me, when did you start worshipping him? Because, in the end, you're _nothing_ of what he expects. Don't fool yourself, Bekah. You're blinded by love that's not even sincere enough to be returned."

"Shut up." Rebekah's voice was dangerously quiet, her whitened knuckles hanging uselessly at her sides as her fists clenched with enough strength to break her hands.

"To be honest, I liked the old Bekah more. She was actually worth keeping alive." Without thinking Rebekah lunged at Irina, her arm striking out to catch the girl by her throat. Irina caught her hand easily, crushing bone between her fingers. Rebekah grimaced in pain, withdrawing her hand quickly in a blur and rising sharply from her stool.

But Irina had other plans. She rested her forearms leisurely on a couple's table, and asked the man sitting there, "Mind if I have a bite?" He began to open his mouth in confusion, but Irina had already descended down upon him, sinking her fangs into a major artery in his neck. She drained him dry quickly and rose victoriously, smirking at Rebekah's stunned face.

"Have fun cleaning up." She snapped the man's companion's neck while she was at it, and strode towards the exit.

Rebekah stared at the mess before her. Humans had began panicking and chaos ensued before her. Rebekah picked up the bottle, feeling the need to get herself drunk before starting her clean-up, which would have to consist of her compelling just about everyone in the Mystic Grill, minus Matt. "Bloody hell," she said in some form of admiration. "That girl's still trouble."

* * *

Outside Irina had answered a call, leisurely resting her back against a lamppost, feet stretched out before her. "Hello, Kat. I trust you did what you were told."

"I don't care if you're my great-great-great grandma; _get rid_ of the sire bond," the doppelgänger seethed at the other end of the line.

"Now Katherine, that's no way to treat your sire. Loyalty, remember, that's what binds us together. My blood saved you from your imminent death, and now you will be, once in your pathetic life, grateful for something. And thank you for telling the Big Bad Hybrid. It's time we had a new player in the game." She spoke lazily, speaking whatever insults that could come to mind, not thinking much of anything about them. She never thought much about anything."

"Irina." Katherine's voice was steely and gripped through her thoughts. "You don't know who you're dealing with."

"Then I'll find out soon enough. You ran from him for 500 years. I want you to run from him again. Get out of Mystic Falls."

"As you wish," Katherine replied mockingly, voice dripping with sarcasm and hatred. As Irina disconnected the call she looked up to see Rebekah emerge from the Mystic Grill. She strode over to Irina, her blue eyes blazing.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Rebekah demanded.

"A vampire living life. You should try it sometime."

"You made me compel _all_ those people inside. You are risking all of our safety! I may not be one to follow rules but-" Suddenly Irina was behind her, snapping her neck and watching the Original Vampire wither down to the ground, losing consciousness.

"That's better." She stepped over the lifeless body and headed onto the streets, thoughts and memories tumbling unwillingly through her mind.

What was she even doing? Her whole self was numb, her body acting accordingly of its own free will, her mind barricaded and blocked from everything else. What was she even doing? She was lost.

She wouldn't ever admit it.

* * *

Kol was bored. He stepped away from the girl he'd given his attention to, watching blood splatter onto the ground.

In all honesty, he didn't know what he was living for anymore.

Certainly not his family. They'd been torn apart centuries ago. All that remained was bitter rivalry and bitter aftertaste of fighting and struggling with each other throughout all those years.

Certainly not anyone else. Kol didn't care for anyone. He lived as a free vampire.

What did he live for? To eventually see the world die, the people fighting each other and the world until it could no longer hold them?

For the kill, the moment he took a life?

Or for his interest in the world, how it constantly changed and would never fail to entertain him?

Kol looked up, focusing on nothing in particular, the blood smeared over his mouth.

Kol wouldn't ever admit it, but he had been lost along the way. He had been, for a very long time.


	10. Never Look Back

_**Summary:** When Irina Petrova sets foot upon Mystic Falls, she bargains for more than she expects...Hearts are broken and lives are taken. Alliances tested and games are played. Somewhere in the midst, love violently lashes out in many more ways than one. Does Damon Salvatore really want nothing to do with Irina, the sadistic killer who caused them all grief? Does Klaus Mikaelson want more than her blood? And will his brother Kol eventually unlock himself through her? Follow Damon, Klaus, and Kol's struggles, and their affection for this one girl._

**A story of the unknown abilities and heritage of doppelgängers, dark magic, sibling rivalry, a love triangle, and, at the heart of it all, a lethal, beautiful vampire with quite a past: Irina Petrova**

_**The Plot So Far (SPOILERS): **_Irina Petrova has only one goal in mind: to wreak havoc in Mystic Falls. She begins her reign of chaos by killing Caroline Forbes, in order to restore Elena Gilbert's humanity. Little does the Mystic Falls gang know, Irina has ulterior motives...in the meantime she slaughters a bar-ful of victims for her own enjoyment, while Klaus is still mourning Caroline's death. At Caroline's funeral Irina appears to the group, snapping Elena's neck for the second time and causing Damon to attempt to hunt Irina down, in which he is unsuccessful. Later on he is sitting in front of the fire in the Salvatore Mansion, contemplating his problems, when Irina decides to play mind-games with the brothers. Meanwhile a certain Kol Mikaelson decides to return to Mystic Falls. Katherine tags along with Irina, but secretly plans to make a deal with the devil himself. Kol returns to Mystic Falls with no apparent agenda (his reason for returning being boredom). Katherine confronts Klaus about Irina, but he violently ends their talk by biting her. Katherine runs into Irina, and all but begs her to save her. Irina needs Katherine in her plans and therefore spares Katherine, by feeding her the mysterious Petrova blood. Damon finally realizes a huge mistake and leaves Mystic Falls, but not before an encounter with Irina and Elena. Irina then threatens April Young to sympathize Elena, as they've both lost all their family. Meanwhile Klaus is starting to lose his mind. He's seeing strange symbols on the stake that killed Caroline. He decides to torture Caroline's killer, when he finds them. April follows Irina's command, which causes Elena to snap by attacking April. Stefan manages to stop her in a time, and they leave quickly. Irina decides to stop intimidating April and Elena for the time being, while Rebekah meets up with Matt at the Grill; little do they know, they're in for a surprise. Irina lashes out at Rebekah angrily, after making sure Katherine has done her duty her sire requested. Irina feels as if she doesn't know what she's doing anymore. Meanwhile Kol feeds on his victims, trying to figure out why he is still alive...

_**Main Characters:**_ Irina Petrova (OC), Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert

_**CHAPTER 10 SOUNDTRACK: **Robot Koch's_ "Nitesky" (for the very ending of the chapter)_  
_

_**Previously: **__Kol looked up, focusing on nothing in particular, the blood smeared over his mouth._

_Kol wouldn't ever admit it, but he had been lost along the way. He had been, for a very long time._

* * *

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**10**

Never Look Back

* * *

Klaus drew his trembling hand away and bit his wrist. With the wound already starting to heal, he held it near her lips, offering her life. "Drink up, sweetheart." The words were hollow as they echoed in the rather empty room. The warm blood fell in agonizingly slow drips. She didn't move.

The dark blood was painted red on Caroline's ashen-grey lips. She lay still. Klaus gently shut the coffin, turning to head back upstairs, his face masked; guarded as always. He swiftly pulled on his leather jacket, wasting no time. Klaus grabbed his phone swiftly, striding out the door.

"Katerina. Any idea where I would find this Irina?"

"Oh trust me. She'll find _you_," Katherine bit back coyly.

"I am in no mood for playing games-"

"Then come and catch me," she said dangerously. "I'm out of Mystic Falls, why don't you come and find me? After 500 years, you can finally end everything."

"Good try. But no...I'll haunt you until the end of time. You will pay for the mistake you made centuries ago."

Katherine hung up.

* * *

The graveyard was deserted.

It was raining again.

Irina picked her way through the graves, the rain drenching her clothes, but she didn't mind. She looked up at the sky, pushing her sopping hair off of her face. The sky was overcast, the dark clouds pushing any last glints of sunlight far away. She smiled.

She produced her lighter and flipped the lid open easily, watching the blue spark emerge. She shielded the growing, hungry flame from the rain with a hand.

* * *

Klaus didn't know what led him there.

He vaguely remembered seeing a white tombstone bearing the name "Caroline Forbes" and he thought he should visit the cemetery in order to rip the grave from the ground and crumble the stone to a fine white dust. After all, the grave was empty and would never hold her body. Klaus would revive her. He _had _to. If not, Mystic Falls would endure his wrath. No, the _world _would endure his wrath.

As Klaus approached the graveyard, his heightened senses picked up the smell of something burning. He could see bright red flames in the distance.

_Fire. _

* * *

Irina lit up the graveyard and watched as the flames swallowed up the last memorials and resting places of the dead. It was beautiful. The flames were dancing, consuming everything and all there was.

Destruction and beauty.

The flames hissed at her skin but she relaxed, the hazard licking up her arms, leaving her unharmed.

She was immune.

She was invincible.

She was immortal.

No one, _nothing, nobody_ could take that from her.

It was all she had.

* * *

Klaus first saw her through the flames.

She was an angel and a demon; from heaven and from hell.

Her blonde-white hair, silvery and flowing, rippled in the wind. Her hazel eyes, nearly soulless black, had a certain allure to them he couldn't place. In an instant her eyes flickered to him, and they stood looking at each other. Klaus raked his eyes down her pearly white, flawless skin. Pure.

The heavy sheets of rain pounded down on them, and the raindrops slid down her face, the iridescent drops kissing her snowy complexion.

* * *

She could feel him looking at her, and she turned her eyes up to meet his.

It was like she was looking at darkness itself.

Dark blonde hair, pale skin, and a dark, powerful aura. He wasn't just _someone. _

And those eyes. Electrically, terrifyingly blue, dark and stormy, tempting and emotionless. Heartless.

The true gaze of a monster.

* * *

Wickery Bridge was abandoned.

As Elena set foot upon it she tried to push out all of the horrible images that began to cloud her mind. The car crash where her parents had died. Elena almost killing herself. And Elena's own death.

This bridge had come to haunt her and she would always dream of the day when it wouldn't anymore. But this bridge, this _very _bridge, was her own personal harbinger of death. No matter what happened, it would always try to bring her down. Maybe one day, it might succeed.

But that day wasn't today.

Elena peered over the edge, tucking hair behind an ear so she could see clearly. This bridge also held fond memories for her. It was where she had become a vampire, which had led to her true self emerging and her coming to recognize her love for Damon. It was where she and Matt had thrown flowers in the water to memorialize her parents' deaths and say goodbye to the old Elena. And it was also where Damon had saved Elena.

The thought of Damon was enough to make her want to sink to the ground and start sobbing. Her hands fisted as she tried to restrain her sobs. When she heard a voice from behind her she stopped, the sob dying in her throat.

"Elena?"

She whipped around to see Matt walking towards her, looking concerned, his blue eyes melancholy and scarred from war.

"Hey, Matt," she said quietly, trying to sound upbeat. She failed miserably.

"Hey." His voice was low and rough, from crying, Elena guessed. He walked over to where she was standing and leaned over the bridge as well.

"Matt," Elena began, sounding worn and tired, "remember when-"

"-when we threw the yellow flowers in the water for your parents?" He held a kind half-smile on his face, reliving the memory.

"Yeah." She paused before charging on. "And we said goodbye to the old Elena." He nodded, waiting for her to go on. "...I think everybody has their different selves. Who they were before and who they are now...I'm me, I'm not going back. But..." She could feel the tears swell up in her eyes. "..I know someone who went back to his old self, and his old self is not safe to be around." Understanding was dawning in Matt's eyes. "And maybe, just maybe, if that person still loves this girl, who accepted her old and new selves, then maybe..." Elena began to cry. "Matt, if I find Damon maybe I can bring him back." And she burst into tears.

Matt was already hugging her. "Elena you _can't_," he pressed firmly. "Remember what happened the last time Damon did whatever he wanted? Bad things happen, Elena. _You can't go after him!_"

"Listen," she said softly, pulling away from him and holding herself together for the time being. "I love him. Matt, _I do._ And there's nothing that'll stop me from finding him, he has to come back to us..._Look,_ the others will be here soon. Tell them...Tell them not to look for me. Tell them I'll bring Damon back to Mystic Falls." As she started to edge away Matt panicked.

"_Elena don't do this!_" he shouted. _"You can't! Please!_" His voice grew quieter. "We don't need to lose anyone else."

"Damon would never hurt me." She steadied her voice and wiped her tears away. "Bye, Matt."

As she turned around to leave she ran straight into Stefan. She started to shake her head, her face anguished, knowing he wouldn't let her go.

"Stefan, _please_. He's your brother. You love him too. Let me bring him back to us," she begged.

Stefan's green eyes glimmered in pain as he registered her words. However, he remained calm and unyielding. "Matt's right. Damon's unstable now as it is. If you ever find him, you'll find him in his darkest state."

Elena's eyes were once again filled with tears and she spun around, attempting to use her vampire speed to get away. As her form started to blur, Stefan clasped her around the waist, before she could escape. He held her tighter and brought her closer to him, trying to soothe her through her onslaught of tears. She was breaking down in front of them.

"Shh. Shhh...it's okay. Everything's going to be okay, Elena. Damon just needs some time to himself. When he's ready he'll come back, I promise. But I don't know how long that will take. It could be days, months, years, even centuries..." He pivoted her around so they were face-to-face in their close proximity. "Let's wait for him together, okay?"

She bravely managed a nod and leaned forward to embrace him.

Matt, pained and burdened by Elena's grief and Caroline's death, turned away abruptly before he started crying too.

And that was when Tyler and Bonnie arrived on the scene. They took in what was before them: Matt desperately trying to hold himself together, Elena sobbing uncontrollably and Stefan embracing her and stroking her hair. Bonnie and Tyler shot each other a look.

"So...what did we miss?" Tyler tried to joke. Bonnie gave a pained smile, and elbowed him in the ribs.

Elena lifted her head from Stefan's shoulder to look at them. Then she started to laugh helplessly, almost hysterically. Bonnie and Tyler shared another look, and Matt turned around, confusion written all over his face.

"You know...things are so bad that I can't even...I can't even..." She said between watery laughs.

"So then why are you laughing?" Tyler asked, confused.

"Well, laughter _is _the best medicine," Stefan interjected.

"We still have each other. And that should count for something," Bonnie chimed in.

"Yeah, I guess we do," Matt agreed, sounding somewhat depressed. Then, all of a sudden: "Screw this. I miss the days when all I worried about was football or a cute girl I had a crush on." Then he started to laugh.

Helplessly, the others joined in.

They walked off Wickery Bridge together, side by side, revelling in each other's company and the fact that they still had each other. As long as that lasted.

Elena didn't look back.

* * *

_A/N:: So this was more of a heartfelt chapter I guess. And Irina and Klaus finally meet :DD So what did you think of this? Please leave me a review! _

_Oh and if you want to you can vote which couple you want as endgame (you can vote on my profile):_

_IRINA/KLAUS_

_IRINA/KOL_

_IRINA/DAMON_

_Do you guys think this story is going in the right direction? Feel free to share your thoughts :) Until next tiime..._


	11. Turning Point

_** Summary:** When Irina Petrova sets foot upon Mystic Falls, she bargains for more than she expects...Hearts are broken and lives are taken. Alliances tested and games are played. Somewhere in the midst, love violently lashes out in many more ways than one. Elena must make a final choice between the two Salvatore brothers she loves. Does Damon Salvatore really want nothing to do with Irina, the sadistic killer who caused them all grief? Does Klaus Mikaelson want more than her blood? And will his brother Kol eventually unlock himself through her? Follow Damon, Klaus, and Kol's struggles, and their affection for this one girl._

**A story of the unknown abilities and heritage of doppelgängers, dark magic, sibling rivalry, a love square, and, at the heart of it all, a lethal, beautiful vampire with quite a past: Irina Petrova**

_**The Plot So Far (SPOILERS): **_Irina Petrova has only one goal in mind: to wreak havoc in Mystic Falls. She begins her reign of chaos by killing Caroline Forbes, in order to restore Elena Gilbert's humanity. Little does the Mystic Falls gang know, Irina has ulterior motives...in the meantime she slaughters a bar-ful of victims for her own enjoyment, while Klaus is still mourning Caroline's death. At Caroline's funeral Irina appears to the group, snapping Elena's neck for the second time and causing Damon to attempt to hunt Irina down, in which he is unsuccessful. Later on he is sitting in front of the fire in the Salvatore Mansion, contemplating his problems, when Irina decides to play mind-games with the brothers. Meanwhile a certain Kol Mikaelson decides to return to Mystic Falls. Katherine tags along with Irina, but secretly plans to make a deal with the devil himself. Kol returns to Mystic Falls with no apparent agenda (his reason for returning being boredom). Katherine confronts Klaus about Irina, but he violently ends their talk by biting her. Katherine runs into Irina, and all but begs her to save her. Irina needs Katherine in her plans and therefore spares Katherine, by feeding her the mysterious Petrova blood. Damon finally realizes a huge mistake and leaves Mystic Falls, but not before an encounter with Irina and Elena. Irina then threatens April Young to sympathize Elena, as they've both lost all their family. Meanwhile Klaus is starting to lose his mind. He's seeing strange symbols on the stake that killed Caroline. He decides to torture Caroline's killer, when he finds them. April follows Irina's command, which causes Elena to snap by attacking April. Stefan manages to stop her in a time, and they leave quickly. Irina decides to stop intimidating April and Elena for the time being, while Rebekah meets up with Matt at the Grill; little do they know, they're in for a surprise. Irina lashes out at Rebekah angrily, after making sure Katherine has done her duty her sire requested. Irina feels as if she doesn't know what she's doing anymore. Meanwhile Kol feeds on his victims, trying to figure out why he is still alive. In the graveyard, Klaus and Irina meet, having a chance encounter. Irina sets everything up in flames. Meanwhile, Elena calls up the Mystic Falls gang to announce she's leaving to go find Damon. Matt can't stop her, but Stefan does. Eventually they both agree to wait for Damon together. If anything, the five remaining friends still have each other.

_**Main Characters:**_ Irina Petrova (OC), Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert

**_CHAPTER 11 SOUNDTRACK:_** Absence's "Dance on our Graves" (beginning part - the piano part - starting when Klaus and Irina exit the scene; song continues for yhe rest of chapter)

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**11**

Turning Point

* * *

The wreath of fire encircled them. The growing flames emblazoned their shadows and from a distance their silhouettes could be seen: Irina's slim figure and Klaus's stong but calm one. Embers rose through the air and the rain had started pelting them in heavy sheets. The two elements were battling each other: fire and water.

They kept their eyes on each other. Unmoving and frozen, drinking in the sight of each other. Time seemed to have stood still and all they could see was each other.

Until at last she moved. Irina brought her wrist to her lips until dark blood streamed down her creamy skin in rivulets. Holding her gaze with the hybrid, she smeared the blood over the side of her neck.

Klaus watched her actions, transfixed. His eyes finally moved to her hand; which she eventually removed from her now bloodstained neck. What he saw shattered his trance.

Black lines had begun to snake over her neck, thickening and spiralling into a pattern. He recognized it at once. So it turned out, after all, his eyes had not been playing tricks on him earlier. His mind flashed back to the stake that had killed Caroline. The symbol that was etched onto he stake and then onto his mind. The one that had flickered away and vanished like a fleeting memory.

The symbol.

He was in front of her in an instant, the proximity dizzying, as he delicately brushed her hair away from her neck to get a better look. Her dark eyes flickered to his and he vaguely remembered the shade of brown streaked in those hazel, oddly luminescent eyes of hers.

"Petrova," he whispered, and in an instant he knew who and what she was.

Klaus could feel the blood running thickly through his veins, his head throbbing in a surreal state. His arms tensed by his sides and he held them still to keep them from shaking.

And in that one moment he didn't feel his hatred for her, strong and sharp as steel. He didn't feel the dangerous attraction. Instead he felt nothing, completely nothing. His mind was wiped cleanly as he watched her. All he could see was her. And she was in his mind, his cold heart, his entire existence, and she was gone. Ripped away. Like Caroline.

It ended as quickly as it had begun.

In one fluid motion his arm darted out to wind his fingers around her throat. Irina had dodged easily, so that his fingers caught nothing but the flames. She was dancing in the flames, leaping nimbly out of his grasp. Malice glittered in the hybrid's eyes and time began passing quickly again, kicking his mind into action. He snarled viciously, reaching for her again, only to have his efforts thwarted.

She danced in the flames, leaping nimbly out of his grasp. She ended up in front of him, face-to-face, nearly the same height.

She should have been flinching away from his eyes, he thought, and his fury dissolved to curiosity. He put Caroline behind him. In his eyes she made him weak. Vulnerable. He could never become stronger with her always in his mind. He needed to be Klaus Mikaelson, the Priginal Hybrid, once again.

A lazy smirk formed across his lips. He was back. Klaus was slowly but surely asessing his prey.

Irina wore a similar expression in her eyes as she cocked her head, beginning to pout. "I hoped you would find me sooner, Klaus. Or is it Nik?"

He threw a searching gaze at her, retrieving his hand where at had been clutching at the air behind her. She'd been too fast to be caught by the hybrid.

His hand lightly brushed by a curtain of long white-blonde hair. His fingertips grazed her neck, tracing over her mark. "Some of my family call me 'Nik'. My enemies call me 'Klaus'." He paused once to smirk at her. "I prefer 'Klaus', love, but don't let the name determine our relationship."

He was playing with her and she knew it. They were playing each other.

Klaus tried to force down his hatred. That only provoked it, causing it to raise to new heights. _Caroline Caroline Caroline._

Caroline.

"Call me Irina. I'm not fond of nicknames."

Irina Petrova. She had killed Caroline. And now, Klaus very much wanted to kill Irina. But no, he had to plot strategically. But his anger. It was controlling him. Forcing it down made him sick. His fingers had lowered to her collarbone. He was faintly tracing the ridges there. How easily he could just...break her.

He forced a smile onto his face. "I must say, i'm impressed. You've put on quite a show for this town." He had only a vague idea of what he was saying right now. All of his focus was concentrated on remaining calm. He was spitting words out of his mouth as if they were poisonous, dragging out the syllables with his tongue.

"I've heard of you too," she commented, amused, eyes still locked on his. "Klaus Mikaelson. The Hybrid. Apparently you've got quite a reputation too."

Caroline.

Throughout trying to keep his emotions in check, he raised his eyebrows at the word 'too'. "Not to be rude, sweetheart, but I wasn't even aware Katerina had another descendant."

"Descendant." Irina gave a bitter laugh. "You really don't know much about the Petrova bloodline."

_Caroline_.

He clenched his jaw tightly, obviously not enjoying his lack of superior knowledge. "No, sweetheart, I don't," he enunciated, trying to keep his voice level.

"Then you won't know that by the end of the day, out of the two of us, only one will make it out alive. It'll be a Petrova," she clarified icily, her expression turning stone-cold and unreadable. "And because out of the hundreds of lives we've both taken, only one matters to you. That is your humanity. That is what makes you weak." she didn't even have to look in his eyes to know she had angered him.

And then he looked down, and what he saw made him see red. She was standing beside _her_ grave. She had set _her_ grave on fire first...she wanted to destroy every single last memory he had of _her. _

**_Caroline_**.

His fingers, which had been trailing up the column of her snow-white neck, reached up swiftly in a blur to wrap around her throat.

Irina remained calm and unmoving, the exact opposite of Klaus. He was ravaging and out of control; his breathing ragged, shoulders heaving. His eyes coursed with electricity and surged with power as they started to change to golden. Hid fingernails dug into her skin, and she faced him head on, hazel eyes never leaving his now golden ones. It only angered him further.

"Her death will be your last," he promised her, a savage growl rising from his throat. And in one fluid motion of his hands, she drifted into a state of unconsciousness, her neck broken. Before the blackness came into her mind she gave a triumphant smile inside.

Klaus carried her away from the flames. Her head slumped back, her long hair falling over his arm and her body still, a secret smile playing silently on her lips.

He thought of revenge, never once looking down at her face, only looking straight ahead, imagining a world where he was not weak anymore.

* * *

The first thing Stefan noticed when he walked into the boarding house was Elena. Perched on the couch, her head slumped on her arm, she was fast asleep, breathing in and out softly. Stefan moved quietly to drape a blanket across her sleeping form and move her to a comfortable position. Elena's dark eyelashes fluttered and she stirred in her sleep.

"Oh...hi Stefan," she murmured sleepily, trying to keep a yawn in but failing.

"Hey," he greeted, sliding her feet over the length of the couch so that she could lay down properly. "It's late. Were you waiting up for me?"

"Huh? Oh yeah!" She sat up suddenly with renewed vigour, the blanket falling from her shoulders. "Stefan...the sire bond's gone! I can finally think clearly again!"

He paused. "How?" he said carefully, in wonder.

"I don't know actually," Elena said thoughtfully. "But before I used to always feel a pull to Damon; to be loyal to him and make him happy. Everything I did was because of him. My whole world gravitated around him." She looked up to see Stefan listening intently, his brow furrowed. "But as much as I like having my own choices...he's gone now and I feel like I destroyed the last link between us," she continued sadly. But she didn't cry. She was past tears now.

She couldn't cry anymore, because this time, the pain cut too deep and too far. She remained indifferent to it, knowing it would always be there for as long as she lived. Instead she emptied her mind completely, clearing her mind from the pain.

She was struggling, but she was staying afloat, head breaking above the surface. At least she was treading water, for now.

Her parents had died. Jenna had died. And Alaric. Jeremy was dead. And Caroline. And now Damon was gone.

Who remained? Tyler, Matt, Bonnie, Stefan. How long until all of them were dead?

But Elena was trying to move on. It's what they all would have wanted for her.

"I feel like we're...worlds apart," she told Stefan emptily.

"He'll come back, Elena," Stefan reassured her gently. "In the end, he always does."

Elena sighed. "...Stefan?"

"Yes?"

"The pain...does it ever stop hurting? I feel like there's a big, gaping hole in my heart. I'm trying to make it whole again, but nothing can fix it."

He didn't respond, but merely leaned over to tuck her back into her makeshift bed and kiss her forehead tenderly.

"In time, everyone finds someone to help them heal."

He left the room but sat against the wall nearby, waiting until her breathing slowed and she was asleep. By then he could see the sunlight streaming through the curtains. He leaned his head back against the wall, every one of Elena's breaths a rhythm, a lullaby, making sleep tempting.

And so he gave in.

* * *

_A/N:: hope you guys enjoyed ;) and thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys make my day :D _


	12. For a Fleeting Second

_**Summary:** When Irina Petrova sets foot upon Mystic Falls, she bargains for more than she expects...Hearts are broken and lives are taken. Alliances tested and games are played. Somewhere in the midst, love violently lashes out in many more ways than one. Elena must make a final choice between the two Salvatore brothers she loves. Does Damon Salvatore really want nothing to do with Irina, the sadistic killer who caused them all grief? Does Klaus Mikaelson want more than her blood? And will his brother Kol eventually unlock himself through her? Follow Damon, Klaus, and Kol's struggles, and their affection for this one girl._

**A story of the unknown abilities and heritage of doppelgängers, dark magic, sibling rivalry, a love square, and, at the heart of it all, a lethal, beautiful vampire with quite a past: Irina Petrova**

_**The Plot So Far (SPOILERS): **_Irina Petrova has only one goal in mind: to wreak havoc in Mystic Falls. She begins her reign of chaos by killing Caroline Forbes, in order to restore Elena Gilbert's humanity. Little does the Mystic Falls gang know, Irina has ulterior motives...in the meantime she slaughters a bar-ful of victims for her own enjoyment, while Klaus is still mourning Caroline's death. At Caroline's funeral Irina appears to the group, snapping Elena's neck for the second time and causing Damon to attempt to hunt Irina down, in which he is unsuccessful. Later on he is sitting in front of the fire in the Salvatore Mansion, contemplating his problems, when Irina decides to play mind-games with the brothers. Meanwhile a certain Kol Mikaelson decides to return to Mystic Falls. Katherine tags along with Irina, but secretly plans to make a deal with the devil himself. Kol returns to Mystic Falls with no apparent agenda (his reason for returning being boredom). Katherine confronts Klaus about Irina, but he violently ends their talk by biting her. Katherine runs into Irina, and all but begs her to save her. Irina needs Katherine in her plans and therefore spares Katherine, by feeding her the mysterious Petrova blood. Damon finally realizes a huge mistake and leaves Mystic Falls, but not before an encounter with Irina and Elena. Irina then threatens April Young to sympathize Elena, as they've both lost all their family. Meanwhile Klaus is starting to lose his mind. He's seeing strange symbols on the stake that killed Caroline. He decides to torture Caroline's killer, when he finds them. April follows Irina's command, which causes Elena to snap by attacking April. Stefan manages to stop her in a time, and they leave quickly. Irina decides to stop intimidating April and Elena for the time being, while Rebekah meets up with Matt at the Grill; little do they know, they're in for a surprise. Irina lashes out at Rebekah angrily, after making sure Katherine has done her duty her sire requested. Irina feels as if she doesn't know what she's doing anymore. Meanwhile Kol feeds on his victims, trying to figure out why he is still alive. In the graveyard, Klaus and Irina meet, having a chance encounter. Irina sets everything up in flames. Meanwhile, Elena calls up the Mystic Falls gang to announce she's leaving to go find Damon. Matt can't stop her, but Stefan does. Eventually they both agree to wait for Damon together. If anything, the five remaining friends still have each other. Klaus and Irina have finally met, and their confrontation ends with Klaus claiming Irina as his prisoner, promising to avenge Caroline's death. With Damon out of town, Stefan and Elena slowly but surely start bonding again. Can their love be reignited, or will Elena continue to wait for Damon?

_**Main Characters:**_ Irina Petrova (OC), Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert

**_CHAPTER 12 SOUNDTRACK:_**

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**12**

For a Fleeting Second

* * *

When Irina regained consciousness she regarded her surroundings carefully. She was in a dark cell, her predator's eyes allowing her perfect vision. It was dingy but rather well-kept. She could see filtered light through the steel bars on the door. She sat up on the hard bench from her sideways position, mind still blurry.

"How...classy," she said aloud, waiting for Klaus to step out of the shadows. He did, pushing himself off of the wall. His arms were folded, his expression mild.

She felt an aching pulse in her neck and she stretched, remembering that Klaus had snapped her neck. Angrily she moved swiftly for revenge, only to be restrained. Amused, she looked down, seeing the problem. "Chains," she realized. "Why am I not surprised?"

He chuckled humourlessly, dark eyes glinting. In a blur he was in front of her, hands resting on either side of her on the bench, leaning in so that she could feel his warm breath on her skin. Irina crossed her legs and smirked, her thigh brushing against his chest.

"Intimidating me won't work, Klaus. Nor will torturing me. I crossed the threshold of pain years ago. I know how to tolerate it."

"Bleeding you dry should do the trick," he offered sarcastically.

"Might." She shrugged nonchalantly, as if considering the possibility.

He kept his dangerous smile showing. "Mercy and forgiveness died with _her._ If you expect any from me then you are foolishly mistaken."

"Oh believe me...you'll be begging for _my_ mercy before the end."

"That remains to be seen."

They kept their eyes on each other, silently daring the other to break their gaze first.

A fierce wave of fury washed over him and he moved his hands to the wall, fisting them, splitting his knuckles open when slamming them into the wall near her head. He leant down so that his lips were by her neck, head lowered.

"I will break you."

She looked up to meet his gaze, their lips inches apart. He could feel the steady flow of hot blood flowing down his knuckles and onto his hands. He abruptly pushed himself off of the wall, turning to leave, locking the door behind him.

Irina pouted and started counting.

"One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi..."

She'd just gotten to the millions when a loud crash echoed from upstairs. She leaped up, eager for action, forgetting the chains, and was immediately jerked back down again. Luckily there was a bit of slack around her wrists, an she took that opportunity, balling her fists.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," shr murmured, and she yanked her wrists away from the chains with enough force to kill a human.

Irina immediately grimaced, looking down.

"Vervain." Her wrists were red with darkened circles cutting into her skin, the wound already trying to heal. But it didn't.

Sighing, she attempted to pull put the blade she always kept with her from her pointed heel.

Irina managed to hold the knife with her teeth, raising the chains. Inwardly she rolled her eyes, setting to work on her new task. Minutes later she pulled the chains away, casting them to the ground. She rolled her neck from side to side and raised her arms above her shoulders, stretching. Another crash echoed from upstairs, and she tore open the door. She was gone in a blur. Shouting echoed from upstairs, and she slowed her pace.

She walked silently up the stairs only to see Klaus and a familiar crystal blue-eyed vampire with striking features. A smirk crept up her lips, and she leaned against the door frame to watch the scene unfolding before her.

"Let me see her!" Damon had yelled.

Klaus has merely smirked and put his hands behind his back. "Sorry, mate. My prisoner, my rules. And I say no one sees her. No compromises."

Damon had flown into a rage, storming furiously, "_Let me see her,_ before I kick your ass into next week."

"What chance do you think you have against me?" Klaus snarled, his grip on Damon's throat tightening. "And may I ask," he said in a lighter, less menacing tone, "What is your issue with the girl?" A knowing smirk formed on his face.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Unfinished business. Now, do I have to beg you or..." He sent a sharp punch to Klaus's jaw but he dodged easily, sidestepping and tackling hin.

"As much as I love a good catfight, I'm gonna have to interrupt you girls."

The two men looked up to see Irina casually sauntering into the room, a knife in hand. In a blur Damon was able to breathe again, and Irina had stabbed Klaus with the knife, dark red blooming over his shirt. With a quick rotation of her hands he was out cold.

She turned to Damon, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "Back so soon..."

"Missed my favourite Petrova," he said coldly, and in an instant she was pinned to the wall. She let him.

Irina looked up to see Damon towering over her, his eyes turning red in fury, and she arched an eyebrow.

"Why did you do that?" he growled, and she remained still, giving him the same impassive look. "Why did you want me to leave Mystic Falls?" he clarified roughly, nearly shaking her by the shoulders. "At first I couldn't stop thinking about you. You're the one who gave me my freedom. But then I began to think something was off. Do you know why? If you're like him, cold, ruthless, heartless, why would you do anything for another person? Mystic Falls has had enough of you. Tell me what your big plan is and get out. What is it?" he asked sarcastically. "World domination? Revenge?"

Irina simply removed his hands from her, letting go of one while holding the other gently. "Listen, Damon," she cooed, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. All of a sudden a sickening crack filled the room. "If you know what's good for you, just stay out of it."

She turned to Klaus's collection of alcohol and selected one, lightly grasping the bottle and twirling it around by its neck, before gracefully pouring some of its contents into a cup. The red liquid sloshed into the crystal-clear glass.

"You're free, anyways, Damon. Why come back?" she told him, still not facing him, as she downed her shot.

"I needed to know why." He set his bones in his hand back in position, grimacing as he did so.

"Maybe I just-" she cut herself off as her lungs started to burn. She glanced down at the empty glass. It shattered when she threw it hard against the wall in anger, the sharp pieces flying. Her face twisted in pain.

"Irina?" Damon asked nonchalantly, walking over to stand in front of her.

"My drink was spiked," she wheezed. "Heavily spiked," she added wryly as she felt the effects of the heavy dose of vervain kicking in. She could feel her consciousness slowly slipping away, the lines of Damon's form beginning to blur.

"My hands are clean of this sabotage." He held up his hands in mock surrender. "I just got here."

"That's very reassuring," she said groggily.

He knelt down beside her, expression growing serious again. "Tell me what you were going to say," he commanded.

Irina only offered Damon a weak smirk. "Find out yourself...then get out of here for good." She nodded over to Klaus. "He's going to be a bastard when he wakes up." Her head slumped to the floor, the vervain successfully drugging her.

Damon took that as his cue to leave. He stood up and left, leaving the unconscious bodies of Irina and Klaus behind. Inside his mind was reeling. Not just about Irina, but he was getting a bad feeling about something unknown, something he couldn't put his finger on. Something was going on, and Irina Petrova was right in the middle of it.

He had to find out. Then he would truly leave. For good.

Forever.

* * *

Elena awoke with a start. She'd had nightmares. About Damon, Irina, Stefan, everything. Luckily she hadn't been screaming in her sleep, so Stefan must still be sleeping. She glanced by the wall to see his shadow sitting against the opposite side of the wall facing away from her. Stefan's shadow's chest heaved in and out slowly, and Elena's senses picked up his steady breathing.

She'd stayed at the Salvatore Mansion for weeks now.

The first time she'd woken up on the couch she'd been disoriented, looking around confusedly, expecting to be lying in her comfortable, warm, familiar bed with the alarm clock ringing and the horse drawing above her bed and the dresser with her mirror. Instead she was lying on the somewhat unfamiliar couch in the big mansion.

She slowly came to the realization that that part of her life was done and would never come back.

She'd burnt her house down. She'd never see it again.

Damon was gone. Would she ever see him again?

She forced her eyes open and shifted out of her covers to go make breakfast for her and Stefan. It took her mind off of things.

Cooking felt good; it felt normal, and soon enough Elena almost couldn't stop. It felt good to be normal again, to not be a vampire, to not be caught up in the world of the supernatural.

She didn't use her super speed to cook, she just went slowly and cracked eggs and mixed batter, and forgot about everything in the world. Cooking reminded her of old Elena, the Elena before her parents died.

Once she had finished cooking up a storm there were plates upon plates of eggs, bacon, toast, waffles, pancakes, and sausages.

Stefan came in the kitchen looking confused and bewildered. "What's going on here?" he asked, staring at the mountains of food.

"Sorry," said Elena apologetically, wiping her hands on a towel and surveying the counters drenched with flour and the empty boxes of pancake batter littering the floor and the now empty fridge hanging wide open. "I guess I got a little carried away."

"Yeah, I can see that." He paused. "I'm gonna call the others to come eat all of this up. I mean, we're immortal, but the package didn't include bigger stomachs. I mean, really. Look at all of this." His eyes swept over the mess. "And you're cleaning that up." He left to go call Tyler, Bonnie, and Matt.

Elena grinned, and felt as if she was regaining some of her old life back. And for once, she didn't feel guilty.


	13. Blue & Hazel

_**Summary:** When Irina Petrova sets foot upon Mystic Falls, she bargains for more than she expects...Hearts are broken and lives are taken. Alliances tested and games are played. Somewhere in the midst, love violently lashes out in many more ways than one. Elena must make a final choice between the two Salvatore brothers she loves. Does Damon Salvatore really want nothing to do with Irina, the sadistic killer who caused them all grief? Does Klaus Mikaelson want more than her blood? And will his brother Kol eventually unlock himself through her? Follow Damon, Klaus, and Kol's struggles, and their affection for this one girl._

**A story of the unknown abilities and heritage of doppelgängers, dark magic, sibling rivalry, a love square, and, at the heart of it all, a lethal, beautiful vampire with quite a past: Irina Petrova**

_**The Plot So Far (SPOILERS): **_Irina Petrova has only one goal in mind: to wreak havoc in Mystic Falls. She begins her reign of chaos by killing Caroline Forbes, in order to restore Elena Gilbert's humanity. Little does the Mystic Falls gang know, Irina has ulterior motives...in the meantime she slaughters a bar-ful of victims for her own enjoyment, while Klaus is still mourning Caroline's death. At Caroline's funeral Irina appears to the group, snapping Elena's neck for the second time and causing Damon to attempt to hunt Irina down, in which he is unsuccessful. Later on he is sitting in front of the fire in the Salvatore Mansion, contemplating his problems, when Irina decides to play mind-games with the brothers. Meanwhile a certain Kol Mikaelson decides to return to Mystic Falls. Katherine tags along with Irina, but secretly plans to make a deal with the devil himself. Kol returns to Mystic Falls with no apparent agenda (his reason for returning being boredom). Katherine confronts Klaus about Irina, but he violently ends their talk by biting her. Katherine runs into Irina, and all but begs her to save her. Irina needs Katherine in her plans and therefore spares Katherine, by feeding her the mysterious Petrova blood. Damon finally realizes a huge mistake and leaves Mystic Falls, but not before an encounter with Irina and Elena. Irina then threatens April Young to sympathize Elena, as they've both lost all their family. Meanwhile Klaus is starting to lose his mind. He's seeing strange symbols on the stake that killed Caroline. He decides to torture Caroline's killer, when he finds them. April follows Irina's command, which causes Elena to snap by attacking April. Stefan manages to stop her in a time, and they leave quickly. Irina decides to stop intimidating April and Elena for the time being, while Rebekah meets up with Matt at the Grill; little do they know, they're in for a surprise. Irina lashes out at Rebekah angrily, after making sure Katherine has done her duty her sire requested. Irina feels as if she doesn't know what she's doing anymore. Meanwhile Kol feeds on his victims, trying to figure out why he is still alive. In the graveyard, Klaus and Irina meet, having a chance encounter. Irina sets everything up in flames. Meanwhile, Elena calls up the Mystic Falls gang to announce she's leaving to go find Damon. Matt can't stop her, but Stefan does. Eventually they both agree to wait for Damon together. If anything, the five remaining friends still have each other. Klaus and Irina have finally met, and their confrontation ends with Klaus claiming Irina as his prisoner, promising to avenge Caroline's death. With Damon out of town, Stefan and Elena slowly but surely start bonding again. Can their love be reignited, or will Elena continue to wait for Damon? Klaus locks Irina in a cell but she manages to break free, earning herself visit from a surprise visitor. She only leaves Damon with even more questions, and no answers...

_**Main Characters:**_ Irina Petrova (OC), Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert

* * *

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**13**

Blue & Hazel

* * *

Klaus awoke with a scowl across his face. He scanned the rather empty room, and spotted Irina lying on the floor, white-blonde hair fanned out.

"It appears the vervain was effective," he speculated casually, to no one in particular. He hobbled to his feet, gripping the handle of the knife still protruding from his chest. He pulled it out quickly and let the blade clatter to the floor, beads of blood spraying.

He looked at his bloodied shirt and scowled again.

"Now that is a pity."

* * *

Irina awoke with a start, eyes snapping open. Just now - she'd felt someone trying to pry into her mind. She'd pushed away the force powerfully, with her remaining strength. Now the presence was gone - for now.

She glanced upwards, squinting in the dark.

Upstairs, Klaus was painting, and he grinned in a wolflike manner when he heard Irina wake up.

She could distantly hear the strokes of brush against canvas; her senses has numbed, causes by the effects of the heavy dosage of vervain. She could barely make out the lines and pattern of stone in her dark cell. She closed her eyes, leaning head back against the stones, almost laying on the ground. She breathed in and out; quick, short breaths that eventually turned into pants.

Irina struggled to breathe, the vervain burning everything. She forced herself to slow her breathing, and glanced around with weary eyes. She stretched her feet before her, trying to relax. Soon sleep found her, and all other thoughts faded into nothingness.

Time passed slowly. Seconds seemed like hours and minutes were days. But the struggle to survive was as potent as ever. Irina broke from sleep several times, mind hazy and vision disoriented, mind fuzzy. She drifted back into the darkness, in the shadows of her cell.

Often she thought of escape and how easily it would be to succeed. Her mind could easily form the beginnings of intricate plans, complicated and layered with deceit and manipulation and lies. But more was at stake then just her life. She reminded herself of that from time to time.

And so she struggled on.

* * *

The days blurred by.

* * *

Once she looked down, and found her dark clothes wet with a sticky substance. Grimacing, on the brink of unconsciousness, her head pounding, she lifted up her shirt.

The scars had reopened, the long gashes crisscrossing her body were now alive again. They ran across her stomach, wet with blood, never healing. She looked to her arms and saw the nightmarish scars beginning to form again, caused by major blood loss. Her vision blurred as blood ran over her face, and she lay back down in the cold cell, breathing shallow.

Irina looked up as the scars etched themselves onto her neck. She longed to call Klaus, to strike a bargain with him and have his blood heal her, but if anything her pride still remained.

If it was anything she had left.

She slipped back into the blackness as the blood pooled to the ground. Before she closed her eyes she only knew one thing was certain:

She had failed, and she would die here.

And the world would burn.

When the grey light filtered through the dank window, she regained her hope and determination. She would not die here, and the world would not burn. She managed to drag herself to an upright position that finally seemed bearable. Mustering the last of her strength, she whispered weakly, "Klaus." It wasn't enough. She gathered every last ounce of strength she had and called out clearly in a ringing voice with authority, "Klaus!"

The hybrid looked up, sparing a single glance to the stairs that led to the cell. So she finally grew weak enough to beg for his mercy, he thought. I promised that any remaining mercy died with Caroline. I won't disappoint. A smug smile grew on his face as he made his way downstairs, halting his painting for his prisoner.

However, as he grew closer to the cell, his keen senses picked up the scent of blood. A lot of it. He could smell Death, too. She was dying. He cursed himself for getting too caught up in his revenge. She couldn't die just yet. He still needed to extract information from her. Then, she would pay for Caroline's death.

Swearing under his breath at himself, he stepped into her cell. What he saw jolted him.

Irina was lying on the ground limply, supporting herself with her elbows. And her whole body was coated in blood. For a moment he wondered why he had done this, had caused this angel of light such suffering. He brushed the thought away and remained indifferent.

The dark blood ran down her ivory skin, still dripping. She was lying in her own blood. Her white-blonde hair was matted to her forehead and sticky with gore. Her skin was red.

He knelt down beside her to get a closer look. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see fresh scars crisscrossing her entire body. He carefully lifted the hem of her shirt up, just enough to see her stomach. The scars were everywhere. But he hadn't done that to her, and she hadn't done them to herself. He gazed into her darkened hazel eyes, searching for answers.

Irina laughed bitterly. "You want to know what happened to me, Klaus? You don't deserve it." Angrily, he forcefully tried to gain entry in her mind, only to be blocked again. Astonished, he looked at her. How she was in this state and still managed to keep anyone from entering her mind, even himself, a powerful, healthy Hybrid, was beyond him. Her mind was still strong despite all of the torture. And that's when he knew he could never break her. It was useless.

He dropped beside her, leaning against the wall. "I can't kill you. You're of importance. But you can't ever be broken."

She gave him a half-smirk, though her eyes were pained from the blood loss and scars. "That's me. The eternal dilemma."

"What do I do with you?" he whispered. "Kill you? Or keep you here, for the rest of eternity, until all of our battles are useless and we both wither away?"

Her gaze turned serious. "Let me run free. Heal me with your blood, and you won't be bothered with me again."

He turned to look at her, amused. "You're asking me to let you run free, after you've angered me. You obviously haven't learnt your lesson yet."

"Bite me."

"Pardon?"

"It'll be a mark to remember you by. To remember what you're capable of, and your mercy. Why you didn't kill me. And why I'll never have the misfortune of running into you again."

Klaus arched an eyebrow, and almost laughed. "Mercy."

"You could have done hell to me. I don't know why you didn't. All you did was bleed me dry. Didn't make a difference," Irina stated bluntly.

"I couldn't," he said.

"Why?"

He leant his head back against the stone and sighed. "Her eyes...your eyes," he looked at her. "You both know..." He closed his eyes. "I can't bring myself to kill you." He opened his eyes. "I do not care for you, but in order to keep me alive you must be kept alive as well." He moved off of the wall and stood up, offering his wrist to her. "That is the only reason you live. Your eyes."

She took his wrist and drank.

While she did so, he leaned forward, sweeping her hair from her bloodstained neck, and bit her. His fangs entered her skin deeply, and he felt her blood on his fangs but didn't drink. He bit deep enough to leave a scar.

When she was gone Klaus sat there, alone, and with her blood still on his lips.

Her eyes.

Both of their eyes.

The eyes that could see the darkness inside of him, and knew how to control it, but never had the chance to.

Or never wanted to.

* * *

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter ;) like it? hate it? opinions? suggestions? reviews=happiness & encourage me to write faster :D until next tiiime...


	14. No Going Back

_**Summary:** When Irina Petrova sets foot upon Mystic Falls, she bargains for more than she expects...Hearts are broken and lives are taken. Alliances tested and games are played. Somewhere in the midst, love violently lashes out in many more ways than one. Elena must make a final choice between the two Salvatore brothers she loves. Does Damon Salvatore really want nothing to do with Irina, the sadistic killer who caused them all grief? Does Klaus Mikaelson want more than her blood? And will his brother Kol eventually unlock himself through her? Follow Damon, Klaus, and Kol's struggles, and their affection for this one girl._

**A story of the unknown abilities and heritage of doppelgängers, dark magic, sibling rivalry, a love square, and, at the heart of it all, a lethal, beautiful vampire with quite a past: Irina Petrova**

_**The Plot So Far (SPOILERS): **_Irina Petrova has only one goal in mind: to wreak havoc in Mystic Falls. She begins her reign of chaos by killing Caroline Forbes, in order to restore Elena Gilbert's humanity. Little does the Mystic Falls gang know, Irina has ulterior motives...in the meantime she slaughters a bar-ful of victims for her own enjoyment, while Klaus is still mourning Caroline's death. At Caroline's funeral Irina appears to the group, snapping Elena's neck for the second time and causing Damon to attempt to hunt Irina down, in which he is unsuccessful. Later on he is sitting in front of the fire in the Salvatore Mansion, contemplating his problems, when Irina decides to play mind-games with the brothers. Meanwhile a certain Kol Mikaelson decides to return to Mystic Falls. Katherine tags along with Irina, but secretly plans to make a deal with the devil himself. Kol returns to Mystic Falls with no apparent agenda (his reason for returning being boredom). Katherine confronts Klaus about Irina, but he violently ends their talk by biting her. Katherine runs into Irina, and all but begs her to save her. Irina needs Katherine in her plans and therefore spares Katherine, by feeding her the mysterious Petrova blood. Damon finally realizes a huge mistake and leaves Mystic Falls, but not before an encounter with Irina and Elena. Irina then threatens April Young to sympathize Elena, as they've both lost all their family. Meanwhile Klaus is starting to lose his mind. He's seeing strange symbols on the stake that killed Caroline. He decides to torture Caroline's killer, when he finds them. April follows Irina's command, which causes Elena to snap by attacking April. Stefan manages to stop her in a time, and they leave quickly. Irina decides to stop intimidating April and Elena for the time being, while Rebekah meets up with Matt at the Grill; little do they know, they're in for a surprise. Irina lashes out at Rebekah angrily, after making sure Katherine has done her duty her sire requested. Irina feels as if she doesn't know what she's doing anymore. Meanwhile Kol feeds on his victims, trying to figure out why he is still alive. In the graveyard, Klaus and Irina meet, having a chance encounter. Irina sets everything up in flames. Meanwhile, Elena calls up the Mystic Falls gang to announce she's leaving to go find Damon. Matt can't stop her, but Stefan does. Eventually they both agree to wait for Damon together. If anything, the five remaining friends still have each other. Klaus and Irina have finally met, and their confrontation ends with Klaus claiming Irina as his prisoner, promising to avenge Caroline's death. With Damon out of town, Stefan and Elena slowly but surely start bonding again. Can their love be reignited, or will Elena continue to wait for Damon? Klaus locks Irina in a cell but she manages to break free, earning herself a visit from a surprise visitor. She only leaves Damon with even more questions, and no answers. Eventually Klaus and Irina make a bargain and she runs free for good, but she knows the only reason she really got away is because of what Klaus said about her eyes. Klaus sits in the empty cell, alone again.

_**Main Characters:**_ Irina Petrova (OC), Klaus Mikaelson, Kol Mikaelson, Damon Salvatore, Elena Gilbert

_**CHAPTER 14 SOUNDTRACK**_ - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus's "Your Guardian Angel" (Stelena scene); "Future Starts Slow" by the Kills (instrumental part for Kol and Klaus scene, vocal part through Klaus/Irina scene

* * *

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**14**

No Going Back

* * *

"Elena?"

Stefan tentatively ducked his head around the wall.

"Hey," she greeted. He noted how the once sad tone had begun to drop over awhile as he had silently observed her. She was moving on. Past all the sorrow, the heartbreak, the grief. But what had caused the change?

"Elena, can we talk?"

"Sure."

He sat down beside her on the couch. "I don't know how else to say this, but..." He took a deep, shuddering breath. "I love you. And you know that. You know that since the day I've met you, and I'll always love you, whether you return my love or not. It was always your choice. But now, seeing you...happy again and moving on, I...I don't want you to move on without me. I know it's selfish, but every time I see you, happy again, I just want to know...what caused you to move on?"

She swallowed and stared into his eyes. "You."

He looked away. "I was afraid you were going to say that. But now I have to know, more than ever, because I can't continue living like this without knowing," he grabbed her hands. "I have to know. Without sire bonds, without Klaus, without Rebekah, with Damon back-"-she flinched at his name—"Without anything or anyone in the way, who would you choose? Me or him?"

This was the moment Elena had been scared of all along: the final decision. After moments of silence the tears finally welled over. "You're right, Stefan. I've always loved you. And I care about Damon, but...I just want him to be happy and along the way I wanted to be the hole to fill his heart, but...it doesn't feel...right. I mistook friendship for love. He needs someone whole, someone who's not selfish, someone who will always choose him..." He stroked her hair.

"You were never selfish, Elena."

"I was, for stringing both of you along for all this time, and being too scared to make my choice. It just hurt both of you in the end. But I'm ready now."

"After today, even if Damon does come back, if you run back to him then you walk away from me forever; I'm sorry. But I can't continue knowing you knowing you're with him, even though I'll be happy for both of you. This is your final choice. There's no going back, Elena."

"I know," she whispered, and she kissed him.

* * *

The cold water washed away all the dirt and grime. After spending days and weeks in the dark, cold cell, it felt good to see the sunlight again, to feel water and to taste blood.

But being there didn't affect her. It didn't change her. She'd been through worse. Her scars had already faded away, and so had Klaus's bite mark. She closed her eyes, letting the water wash everything away. The blood ran the water red as it streamed down into the drain.

It washed everything away but her tainted heart.

As if it could.

She smiled bitterly to herself and turned off the water.

* * *

Kol lounged on the couch, drink in hand. "I still don't understand why you keep her in a box, Nik. Do you open her coffin every morning after breakfast and talk to her about your daily insecurities? Oh Caroline," he mimicked in a high voice. "I'm such a jerk; I don't deserve you. Oh, Caroline. What do you think of my painting? I've tried to capture your features exactly on here by staring at your face for hours upon end while you're sleeping in order to memorize the shape of your eyes—"

"Enough, Kol," Klaus snapped shortly.

"—oh Caroline, which do you prefer, thoroughbreds or purebreds? I cannot possibly decide which to draw beside your lovely face which I have of course not obsessively drawn on every scrap of paper in all the sketchbooks I've owned since the sixteenth century—"

Klaus bristled.

"Oh I promise my love, I'll set you free from your enchanted sleep like a prince or knight would for a princess (except for of course I am a _dark_ knight) and we can be together forever—"

"She isn't dead, Kol," Klaus cut in with a deadly whisper.

"Fool's hope, Nik," Kol shot back. "She's dead; you just won't admit it, you're just too hung up on her. Even if—for some impossible reason—she magically came back to life, she wouldn't want you anyways. She's already been claimed by your hybrid pet Lockwood."

Klaus shook in anger, surprising both of them that he'd lost his temper so quickly. "Get out, Kol," he said. When his brother remained motionless, he could feel his eyes beginning to flare golden and his fangs elongating. "Get out and leave!"

"I take that as my cue to exit your life once again before I find a dagger in my heart while my back is turned," Kol said sarcastically, voice cold, and walked out of the mansion.

* * *

Klaus leaned over Caroline while she slept. "Why won't you ever wake up, sweetheart?" he murmured, gently brushing loose golden strands from her ashen forehead. "You're not dead. You can't be." His lips ghosted over her cheek and he closed his eyes, wishing he could savor the warmth that had once flooded her cheeks.

He'd had a lot of time to sit and ponder in that cell. Normally Klaus didn't do sit and ponder, maybe for the exception of a painting or when he was plotting something. However, now a sudden realization struck his mind.

"I'll be back, Caroline." He pulled away from her quickly, closing the lid almost silently, then hurrying out, but not before taking Irina's stake with him.

In Kol's mocking words, the dark knight would now attempt to wake the princess from her enchanted sleep.

* * *

Irina wandered the streets aimlessly. After awhile she simply lay down in the middle of the streets and looked up at the night sky, searching the stars.

She noticed a familiar presence and didn't even feel like herself enough to be hostile. "I thought we had a bargain," she said dully. "The scar; my freedom."

"Consider this me changing it," Klaus enunciated. "What exactly is your blood capable of doing?"

Irina sighed, and tersely answered his question with a statement. "He wants to kill me."

Klaus knelt down beside her; seeing her in this mood meant he wasn't going to get answers any time soon. So he decided to play along. "Who, love?" he asked.

"Silas."

"What does he need you for?" he asked, now genuinely curious. He lay down on the road beside her so they were side by side, but never touching. He looked at her white-blonde hair, silver in the moonlight, sprayed out around her, and her hazel eyes, as dark and tainted as ever. He couldn't help but notice her beauty.

He looked up too, but the light didn't reflect in his eyes.

"He needs me and a doppelganger in order to restore himself to his true power and form. I'm dead in a few days."

He looked up at the stars and tried to see what she saw. "Now, we can't let that happen. My brother always said Silas would unleash hell on earth."

"He's right. But you can't escape Silas. No one can. He gets what he wants, always. If we're going to stop him we need a powerful witch with expression magic." He looked at her and she nodded, confirming his suspicion. "The Bennett girl, Klaus. Know where to find her?"

"I might." The words they spoke weren't words, they sounded distant, and his eyes were on her neck now, where he had bit her and she'd said it would leave a scar. He reached out and traced where the scar would have been with the backs of his fingers.

He pushed himself off of the road and headed into the night, leaving her. He sensed that Irina wouldn't give her blood to Caroline so easily and that there were more games to be played. He would ask her when the time was right.

Alone, Irina watched Klaus's retreating form.

A sudden thought popped into her mind and she clenched her fists suddenly. She hoped her fight against Silas wouldn't be her last. It couldn't be; not after all this time.

Klaus walked away, his hands his in his pockets, back to the shadows where he belonged. He could feel the stake in his pocket and he pulled it out nimbly to look at it. This time, he could see the symbol, as clear as day. He traced the ridges and the marks and details carved in centuries ago.

_Petrova._

* * *

_A/N: Hey guys, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Tell me what you think, and get ready cuz Irina's gonna meet Kol soon...and let me tell you it's not gonna be a normal, peaceful meeting. _

_You guys noticed there was Stelena in there, right? Well, I don't usually write Stelena, i don't really ship it, but it was necessary for this story, and you'll see why in a couple of chapters...it has to do with Damon..._


	15. Hearts on Fire

_Darkness Stole Her Heart_

**15**

Hearts on Fire

* * *

"I organized all of this for you, so pray tell dear Irina, what is it you have in mind for this lovely afternoon?"

She stood across from him, under the gazebo, swathed in delicate red ribbon, her hair holding its soft lustre and pearly radiance. Klaus stood patiently in front of her, formally dressed in black suit and tie. For Klaus as he studied her it brought a secret smile to his lips; she took mirth in knowing even the most graceful or lithe she could be, she was far more dangerous than he could ever know.

"It's strictly business, hybrid," she told him in a light tone, though laced with a hidden threat. "We all have secrets, Klaus, and what's the point of keeping one only to let it out into the open?" She traced the column of the gazebo, noting the vines that clung to the wood and twisted upwards.

"I loathe secrets," Klaus said. "I despise being kept in the dark."

"So I've noticed."

"Nobody has ever run from me alive with a secret still on their hands."

"Guess I'll be the first then." He was quiet after that, studying her, drilling holes into her with his eyes.

"It's pretty," she added off-handedly, her eyes on the column of the gazebo.

"Only the finest for-"

"Niklaus Mikaelson, the world's first Original Bastard, and all that. I know," she interrupted, cutting him off. He challenged her with a menacing look, but she ignored it.

Irina looked at Klaus expectantly and when he realized what she wanted him to do he sighed but offered an arm to her. She took it without hesitation, resting her slender hand lightly on his outstretched arm.

"You're wrong about that," he informed her. "My father was the first bastard the world has ever come to known."

"If he was the one who made you like this I can't really disagree, love," she said, mimicking his accent.

Klaus gave her a pointed look. "The only reason you're still alive is to-"

"-Bring Caroline back to life, I got it. Anything else?"

"I'd appreciate it if you would stop finishing my sentences. It's-"

"-Bothersome?"

She could see his jaws clench, and he relented by looking ahead in stony silence.

"But I know already what you're going to say. You always state the obvious, Klaus," she pouted.

"Don't talk to me like that," he snarled.

"Like what?"

"Like you know me."

"You really need a girlfriend to keep your temper in check. Oh, don't talk now, I know just what you're going to say. 'Let's not reminisce on the fact that you literally killed my last hope of love, Irina'. Right?"

He growled but managed to maintain his composure, instead muttering under his breath. "Infuriating little-"

"That's correct! So what am I?"

"A spitfire who needs to be tamed."

"Tamed, untamed, what's the difference, I'll always go back to the same way I always was. And," she added, "you just admitted you're an infuriating little bitch. That it what you were going to say, right? Or maybe something else, I don't know, you've got at least a century on me so you must have had a little more time to expand your vocabulary."

His jaw unclenched. "You're quite the chatterbox today," he noted.

"I'm just not feeling _that_ murderous. Maybe I'll keep the body count down to at least ten."

They walked together, side by side in silence, down the dark path and back to where the light emerged. Guests were slowly flooding into the Mikaelson mansion. The shadows slowly melted into the grass, as night fell and the previous grey lighting the sky was extinguished. Klaus spoke.

"If you cause a scene I'd rather you'd not have it happen in my house; I've just finished refurnishing. Damage is expensive," he told her.

One day he would grow bored of their games; she knew. It was only a matter of time. As if on cue, Klaus's hand gripped her wrist forcibly, though not enough to shatter bone. He leaned in to her, aware of the fact that they were in a public place and he would have to maintain his composure. He gave her a charming smile and whispered into her ear.

"If Caroline is not back to me by tonight I will gladly let you die," he whispered, his arm looped around her shoulder, holding her close, his fingers dancing on her bare skin. His fingertips gently brushed against the column of her neck. "And I will kill you myself, no hesitation, no halt in my actions; my hands will not pause. Make no doubt about it, I _will_ kill you."

Irina returned Klaus's smile with one as equally dazzling as his. "That's got to be...the seventh time you've said that to me? Things that are far beyond you are about to take place tonight. Klaus, in the short time I've known you I've always been aware of the one weakness you possess." She turned to him so that their cheeks were nearly touching, and dipped her head down to his neck as if to kiss him there. "Love." His grip tightened, but she continued, raising her head to meet his eyes. "And it's your biggest mistake."

They'd halted walking right then and there, blue eyes searching hers for something - he didn't quite know yet - while her intense gaze burned him, made him want to withdraw, like she was looking at a part of his so vulnerable he just wanted to curl up and hide.

"Looks like you two have gotten all cozy without me." Irina didn't even have to turn to know who's voice is was, that sarcastic deadpan, that low voice of his. She whipped around and practically flounced into his arms. Her pale arms reached upwards to thread themselves in his silky dark hair and she could feel, from the way his body felt pressed flush against hers, that he was surprised. When she'd flown into his arms he'd instinctively brought his hands up - to do what, he didn't know - to push her away or hold her close. He let his fingers drape loosely, winding around her shoulders, his arms falling down her bare arms.

From out of the corner of her eyes Irina noticed Klaus stride off towards his guests, a look aimed in her way. The look was hard and cold as ice - but to her just an empty threat. She turned her attention back to Damon.

"How...uncharacteristic of you. What's gotten you so chipper today? Not that I don't enjoy the greeting." His smile was dark and dangerous, much like the old Damon; his steel eyes pointed downwards to indicate their entwined bodies with a suggestive raise of an eyebrow. Irina tilted her head to the side to study him in that way of hers, and a coy smile played on her lips.

"We needed an old player back in the game." She shrugged nonchalantly. "And you're just the man for it. Your brother and 'Lena are here," she added. Irina's eyes followed a trail behind Damon's shoulder, and he knew she was right - he could feel their presence._ Their_ presence. They'd already gotten back together again. Stefan and Elena.

But Damon didn't care. He'd already let her go. He'd made his choice long ago.

When Elena had entered Damon's line of sight she was wearing a pretty pale dress - blue. She had been standing beside Stefan, and her head was tossed back in laughter. And Stefan - well, his baby brother was the happiest he'd ever seen him. So Damon let it go. He let her go, he let him go, he let everything go. If they were happy and he was out of the picture and gone for good, he knew he could let it go. The small part of him that still cared acknowledged the fact. He could spend an eternity alone. As long as it was without them.

When Elena felt someone's eyes on her she immediately looked up, and her body stiffened as soon as she saw him.

"Damon-" she started, but Stefan seized her wrist, muttering into her ear quickly.

"Elena he's still unstable, and Irina's there with him. Approaching both of them will only cause disaster. Let's go inside. That's why we came; to discover Klaus's intentions." The look on Elena's face was stricken and pale, but she allowed Stefan to gently grasp her by the elbow and lead her inside through the tall doors without a backwards glance.

Still, Damon let go of Irina and stepped back. He needed to be alone right now. She saw the look in his eyes and accepted it. He turned to leave but she gripped his jacket sleeve.

"Things are going to happen tonight. Don't be a liability," Irina warned him in a low undertone, and the force of her words made him realize that she wasn't talking about Stefan and Elena - this was something much more serious than that. Irina offered him a playful smirk, but he didn't return it. He stepped away from her and into the crowd against the flow, his electric blue eyes searching aimlessly.

Irina smiled again but to herself this time, before straightening her already straight shoulders and turning to stride into the Mikaelson mansion.

There had been a ball like this, roughly a year ago, where Elena had walked in with Stefan and Damon, and they had danced, and Klaus and Caroline had danced. It had been a chance for Esther to attempt to kill her children, monsters of nature that she had created centuries ago. She couldn't undo her actions. And some things would never be the same again. Elena entered with Stefan this time, all tension relieved - all Elena felt for Damon was pity, that she had not been the one to love him, that she wasn't in love with him. That although she wanted to maintain their friendship, she knew they couldn't. For so many reasons. And Irina was here now, having somehow wedged her way in between them, split them apart, awakening the vampire in Damon was again that had always been inside of him but had slept from time to time while his humanity bubbled to the surface. Irina. She'd terrorized the town, killed innocents, killed loved ones. She'd killed Caroline. Yes, some things were never meant to be the same again.

Irina strode past the long brass doors of the Mikaelson mansion, noticing its fine work and craftmanship. He'd really spent time decorating this place. She made a mental note that whatever would go down tonight, she'd at least keep it away from the house. She hoped. Irina allowed the woman to take her coat, and she indifferently glanced around the ballroom: a set of elaborate stairs twisting up to the second floor, men in suits and women in dresses socializing and laughing. She smirked at herself and stepped forward to engage in a conversation with the Mayor, but a steel grip jerked her back.

"Tell me what you plan to do or I will rip out your heart here and now," he snarled, an arm carelessly thrown around her waist. "Elena Gilbert is here, and if I remember correctly a certain Silas needed you both for a sacrifice."

"Silas has been unleashed. You know what they did in order to get the Cure."

He nodded at her. "I have seen his power."

"Then you know he is not a force to meddle with. Not even you, the Original Hybrid, can stand against him alone."

"You don't know the full extent _my_ power," he growled.

"And you don't know mine," she returned easily. "Don't be so naive to think you can actually take on the world's first vampire."

"And you're scheming to?" he challenged.

"Of course not," she responded, holding his gaze. "I'll need your help, whether you're willing to offer it or not. If not, Mystic Falls will have nothing but blood on its hands. A town slaughtered, including you and me."

She calmly removed his grip from her. "We need the Bennett girl, Klaus. _Now_." When he didn't budge she added, "Unless you want to live another millennia without Caroline by your side." His jaw tightened for a moment, his eyes cold and murderous, but he tore away from her, eyes already scanning the crowd for the witch, trying to pick up her scent.

Irina sighed in distaste and impatience, and she came to a realization while watching the humans before her. She needed blood to get her to her full power if she were able to fight Silas tonight. Irina could see it now, the blood pumping richly through their veins, she could hear a thousand heartbeats, could see the bulging veins of arteries almost calling out to her...

She spied a boy who looked to be around her age if she was human, standing by the stairs. She strode over to him and flashed him a smile, looking straight into his eyes. "Let's go somewhere."

"...Sure," he mumbled incoherently, dazed from being compelled. She flashed a smile brighter than the last and led him away by the arm, too preoccupied in her most recent bloodbag to have noticed that someone's eyes were following her closely.

Irina led the boy into one of the many hallways. "Quickly!" she laughed. "We don't have all day." She spun around and tore the lock off of a door in a fragment of a second with nimble fingers, pushing him inside. "In here." She shut the door quietly and surveyed the room's contents: it was bare, in fact, save for a painting hanging on the opposite wall and the window fully open with the curtains blowing in the breeze. When she looked outside she could see people milling about, and hear the music and chatter from downstairs.

"You'll have to be quiet," she told the boy, who was now frightened, and she put a finger to her lips. "_Very_ quiet." Irina could feel her eyes shift to red and feel her veins emerge as she studied his pale neck and all the rich blood pumping beneath his skin. "Don't-" she began, but the boy had already opened his mouth in horror, about to alert everyone of her presence. "-Scream," she finished, as she blurred in front of him and shoved a hand over his mouth, vamping out in front of him. The boy's mouth automatically clamped shut and his eyes were now wide with fear.

"I've always been quite careful with secrets, but here's one I'd like you to know." She leaned in close to whisper in his ear and she could feel him shudder. "I'm not human." He shivered from the weight of her words and she smiled. She traced her lips across his neck to find his pulse point. Fangs lengthening, she tightened her hand around his mouth and her fangs pierced his flesh, and she could at last taste again the red sweetness that was blood. As she drank more deeply he struggled against her, fighting to escape, but she held him tightly in place. She could feel under her hand his jaw trying to work, trying to open in order to scream, but she muffled his cries with a secure hold. She could have compelled him but she enjoyed to see and feel him writhe beneath her.

His struggles had lessened when she had drained the last drop from his body, and as she let go of him the boy slumped down to the floor, the life far gone from his eyes. Her blood-red lipstick was still in effect, without a smudge.

Irina could suddenly feel those eyes on her, those eyes that had been on her ever since she had walked into the ball. She knew those eyes belonged to the person who was standing behind her now.

She slowly turned, her smile already present on her lips, to look into the dark eyes of a stranger. He surveyed her in return with a playful tilt of his head, the hint of a smirk gracing his lips. Dark eyes, dark hair.

"Well, well, well, what have we got here?"

She kept her eyes on his as she answered. "A hell of a lot more than you can handle."

The stranger chuckled with the air of a superior. "You have the Petrova fire. _You _are the one who's been driving my brother mad, haven't you?"

"Not romantically, I hope."

"Not at all. You killed his lover; how cruel of you...Irina," he said, testing her name on his tongue for the first time.

The beautiful vampire across from him shrugged. "She needed to die."

"Ah, so I'm not the only one with a secret agenda."

"I'm afraid not...Kol."

"You know my name," he said, sounding amused. "So I assume there's no need for introductions."

"Apparently not." She lifted a hand to the door handle and it swung freely without the lock.

"We've only just gotten acquainted. Where are you off to in such a hurry, darling?"

"To cause chaos. Want to join?"

"The fact that it happens to be one of my favourite pastimes, and that it includes a beautiful girl, is an added bonus. I'm in."

* * *

_A/N: Irina met Kol! I apologize for having such a LONG delay, i just wasn't sure how to introduce them, like at the right time or moment or whatever. But anyways it happened ;) This is probably the longest chapter I have ever written, lol. Worked hard on this one, so I hoped you guys enjoyed it! Thank you to all who reviewed last time, really made my day! Anyways I'm going to start doing review answers, should have done some long time ago but i forgot :P_

_**kay09: **_I found it really interesting about what you said about Klaus and Irina and I'll keep that in mind ;) Klaus and Irina don't even remotely care for each other...yet, so don't worry. But who knows what will happen as time passes...

_**Antigony:** _Thank you for taking the time out for reading this story :)

_**bbymojo: **_A lot of people seem to be voting for Kol/Irina even before they met, lol. Well the suspense is all gone now that they've met ;) hoped you liked their meeting!

_**Guest: **_I can't guarantee whether Kol or Irina will be endgame or not XD who knows where the story will end up

_**WhisperedxNothingsx: **_Another Kol/Irina fan I see ;) A semi-flirty relationship with the others, that sounds like Irina. She's quite the player

_**VIVI: **_Thanks! :) I hope you liked this chapter

_**kblatz: **_They should have DEFINITELY kept Kol around for longer I feel your pain :'( I'm not sure if they would calm each other down or not lol they're both pretty wild, but who knows how this story will end :P

_**Guest: **_Again, no guarantee; Irina may end up with Kol, Klaus, or Damon because now that i've written this story it's out of my hands :P it has a mind of its own now and who knows where that will lead lol

_**Guest: **_Hello Kol/Irina shipper and thank you for reading my story :) i hoped you liked the kol/irina meeting. Did it live up to your expectations?

_**TFF-shaunmichael: **_Thanks! :) I love Irina too, she really gives the boys a run for their money xD

_**dchips: **_Thank you so much, it means a lot to me! I worked a lot on that scene, I really wanted it to be good as it was a big turning point in the story :)

_**RockaRosalie:**_Thank you so much for reading from the start! And as for Caroline, you'll just have to wait and see...Irina may be tricking Klaus...or not :P

_**xx-ForeverYours-xx:**_Thank you SO MUCH, your review really means a lot to me :)) yeah their friendship is pretty special, the fact that they've stayed together all this time and survived together all throughout their life in that crazy town is really special :) i think the friendship factor is sometimes overlooked and i wanted to bring it to attention. TVD is a lifechanging show, not just a show about a love triangle with two vampire brothers and the girl torn between them. The fact that you don't read triangles but read through all of my story and actually liked it means A LOT to me, i can't even tell you how much ;) well i gave you some kol and he'll be present in the next chapter A LOT. yeah, im not exactly sure where the whole Klaus/Irina relationship is going, the story has a mind of its own :P it'll wrap up in the end . lol its okay i understand your need for them to meet ur right it's been 14 chapters O.O im sorry i just didn't really know how to write irina's character interacting with kol at first but i think i got the hang of it;) what did you think of their meeting? Did it live up to your expectations? Hmm, Rebekah and Irina as allies..interesting. over the course of the next few chapters im going to get into a bit of their past and where all of that rivalry and hatred started XD anyways really glad you like my story, THANK YOU! :)

_I'm done. That took pretty long O.o anyways, hope you guys liked this chapter (did you like the kol/irina scene?) i hope i wrote that part correctly and made it good enough...tell me what you think?_


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